Background

Key to meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Agenda and the Paris Agreement in Germany is the energy transition – dubbed the Energiewende - for which several policy plans and packages have been envisioned, proposed and passed into law. One of the most controversial has been the Coal Exit Law, which, enacted in May 2020, set 2038 as the deadline by which Germany had to phase out coal. At the same time, the so-called ‘Easter Package’, passed in May 2022, commits Germany to ambitious renewable energy targets to uphold its climate aims and become independent from gas from Russia, in light of the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the war is testing Germany’s energy security and resilience and the coherence of the Energiewende process at-large. For example, it is unclear how the expansion of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, and a revival (albeit supposedly temporary) of coal-fired power plants will enable Germany to forge ahead with the Energiewende.

The study

Between June 2022 and March 2023, two parallel studies in Germany were conducted by IDOS. First, key interactions between 20 relevant climate, energy and land use policies were analysed, focusing on the federal level, and regionally, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Here, 380 interactions between policies seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy availability and affordability, reduce social inequalities and protect biodiversity were examined through a matrix approach. Half of these interactions are centered around new policies that are part of the ‘Easter Package’. Second, twenty-seven semi-structured interviews with policy-makers, civil society, NGOs and activists were conducted to: 1) explore the politics behind policy (in)coherence of Germany’s Energiewende process at the federal level and, regionally, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia: 2) study whether political inequality matters for this policy (in)coherence; and 3) to understand whether this (in)coherence is leading to or deepening social inequalities.

The workshop

This workshop – hosted in-person and online - seeks to convene the study’s interviewees and other energy and climate experts to provide feedback on the results, foster deliberation and debate with the view of devising carefully drafted policy recommendations towards coherence in the Energiewende, and provide an opportunity for further networking and collaboration on these important issues. The workshop will be hosted at IDOS and online, and will follow strict Chatham House rules. A draft policy brief and further insights will be shared with all participants beforehand.

Contact

Please note that this workshop is by invitation only. If you would like to attend, please e-mail the organizer, Alexia Faus Onbargi, at alexia.faus-onbargi@idos-research.de to inquire about possible attendance by Thursday 15 June 2023 at the latest.