Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As always, we start the new year with a short evaluation of the past. Last year, Germany saw a rise in renewables covering electricity demand, from 32 percent in 2016 to 36 percent in 2017. This increase, however, did not decrease the country’s carbon emissions because energy consumption remains high. And unlike the electricity sector, industry, transportation, and heating continue to run predominently on fossil fuels. Therefore, Germany is likely to miss its 40 percent carbon reduction goal by 2020. This provides a valuable lesson for countries aiming to reduce carbon emissions: the energy transition means restructuring not just electricity, but the energy system in its entirety. Craig Morris takes a look at the specifics in
Germany’s energy consumption in 2017.
We wish you a happy new year!
Your Global Energiewende Team,