German Establishment Wakes Up to Net Zero Costs

Friedrich Merz’s coalition looks set to enter a fresh round of infighting now that his own centre-right CDU has begun questioning green orthodoxy.

In particular, CDU energy minister Katherina Reiche on Monday criticised the European Union’s “rigid” 2050 climate target. She said Brussels should “accept” it might not hit ‘net zero’ by then, and allow up to a 10% leeway.

We need to become more flexible again, not just be satisfied with 100% solutions, but allow different solutions and technologies.

This, sensible as it may be, is bound to enrage members of Berlin’s green elite, no doubt including members of Reiche’s own party.

Separately, the minister’s plans to cut subsidies for small solar power systems have already triggered what Bavarian daily Merkur described as “a storm of criticism from coalition partners and the opposition.” Nina Scheer, an energy official in the coalition SPD, criticised the idea as “completely misguided,” adding that “it borders on absurdity to cut subsidies for urgently needed renewable energies.”

Reiche this week echoed arguments long associated with so-called climate sceptics, warning that while sustainability is important, “if sustainability brings the economy to its knees, we need to rethink our approach.”

Merz himself accepted in January that the phasing out of nuclear energy by previous governments had been a “serious strategic error.” Fatih Birol, the boss of the International Energy Agency (IEA), this month agreed that Germany “made a huge strategic error by shutting down its nuclear power plants,” telling Frankfurter Allgemeine that “the situation wouldn’t be so bad today if Germany still had the power plants.”

AfD co-chair Alice Weidel on Monday stressed that however much these officials discuss past mistakes and possible future solutions, a “sensible energy policy” cannot exist while they remain in power.