2008 I 2009 Sustainability Report - Econsense

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Political framework Despite the financial and economic crisis, climate protection remained one of the core areas of German and European legislation during the period under review. This culminated in the adoption of the Integrated Climate and Energy Package/"Green Package" in Brussels in December 2008. The aim of the measures outlined therein is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union by 20% compared to 1990 reference levels by the year 2020. If the other major economic regions commit to targets of a similar magnitude in an international agreement, the reduction target is to be upgraded to 30%. Trading with CO 2 emission certificates is the central instrument in the endeavour to achieve these goals. The primary addressees of this policy are energy producers and industrial companies, who have to acquire certificates for their CO 2 emissions. The volume of certificates is limited and decreases over time. Companies can trade the certificates with each other to balance out increased or reduced emission needs. The key effect of emissions trading is the creation of a market price for CO 2 emissions. This provides companies with a marketbased incentive to cut greenhouse gas emissions. 10 The system of emissions trading was introduced back in 2005. The Emissions Trading Period in the "Green Package" governs the third trading period from 2013 to 2020. It will lead to a "Europeanisation" of emissions trading, as the certificates will no longer be allocated nationally but by the European Commission. The reduction in emission limits is not the only regulatory factor that imposes stricter conditions on the electricity industry; in future, energy companies will also have to purchase the emission certificates they need. This is expected to make the certificates more expensive and therefore to also result in higher electricity prices. In contrast, the certificate auction process for industrial companies will be introduced step by step. Industrial sectors competing on the international stage will still be able to acquire up to 100% of the certificates they need free of charge, although under the new rules allocation will be based on the 10% of most efficient companies in the sector in question. The EU Commission intends to stipulate the affected sectors and the exact procedures by 2010. At least 50% of the proceeds from emissions trading are to be spent on climate protection measures. A further key element in the European "Green Package" is the Directive on Renewables – which stipulates that renewables must account for 20% of all energy consumed in the EU by 2020. This applies not only to electricity consumption but also to heating and transport. The member states must draw up national plans of action outlining how they intend to meet this target. The EU states can choose the instruments they employ to meet the target, which means the provisions do not impact the German Renewables Act (EEG). In 2007, the share of renewables in overall energy consumption was just 8.6%, and this gives some indication of the significant growth that will be necessary on this front. The German government has the power to decide how to split the target between the various sectors – like electricity, heating or transport. A further EU Directive deals with the capture of CO 2 from the waste gases of coal-fired power plants as well as the subsequent underground storage of this gas (CCS – carbon capture and storage). It lays down a framework for the technology to be developed for this purpose and requires that new coal-fired power plants be designed in such away that suitable technology can be retrofitted. To promote this goal, it is making funding available from emissions trading for 12 demonstration projects. At the present time, however, the formulation of German CCS legislation is being held up by differences of opinion between the parties that form the national government as well as between the national government on one side and the regional state governments on the other. The final, voluntary target concerns energy efficiency in Europe, which is to increase by 20% by the year 2020 compared to a reference scenario. Meanwhile, the European Ecodesign Directive already in force is paving the way for the first successes on the energy efficiency front. The regulations on the replacement of conventional light bulbs by energy-saving bulbs made waves throughout the EU. This year, the sale of 100-watt standard and opaque light bulbs will be prohibited, and this ban will be extended to cover all bulb wattages step by step. In Germany in particular, the ban unleashed fierce debates about lighting quality and lamp design, underlining the lack of general faith in the ongoing technical development of illumination alternatives. Other regulations – such as those governing the energy consumption of refrigerators and freezers, television sets and television reception devices, street lighting and external power packs as well as new provisions to reduce the power consumption of appliances in standby mode – managed to generally avoid the headlines. The regulations on the energy consumption of electric motors in industry are expected to be particularly effective. The German government and the Bundestag parliament also devoted a great deal of time to climate protection policy and to address-
ing the various items in Germany's "integrated energy and climate programme". The binding climate protection target is minus 30% compared to 1990 levels – or minus 40 % if the EU targets are upgraded. Germany's political decision-makers have long since agreed to aim for the higher target anyway, however, and have adopted a whole package of measures to meet this target. To date, Germany has succeeded in achieving a reduction of 18%. The amended EEG renewables legislation came into force in Germany at the beginning of 2009. It confirms the priority feed of electricity from renewable sources into the network, and this electricity will continue to be financed by the network operators based on predefined remuneration rates varying according to size of facility and source of energy (wind, water, solar, geothermal or biomass). The remuneration rates are to be adjusted; the rates for offshore wind energy, for example, will be considerably higher in future in order to promote the construction of new installations at sea. The share of renewables in total German energy consumption is to be increased to 30% by the year 2020 (compared to the current figure of 15%). The amendment of the compensation mechanism for the added cost of renewables is extremely welcome. It has been greatly simplified – and this limits financial risks while reducing costs. As the expansion of the electricity networks has not matched the rapid pace of growth of renewable sources of energy, there is a growing risk of bottlenecks and instability. The German Electricity Grid Expansion Act is designed to address the potential problems in the transport networks. The share of electricity generated in highly efficient power plants – using heat-and-power cogeneration concepts – is also to increase. The amended German Cogeneration Act also came into force at the beginning of 2009. Now, industrial cogeneration activities are being subsidised for the first time, even when no power is fed into the public network, as is the construction of heating networks. At the same time, however, annual support is still capped at 750 million €. The aim is to grow the share of electricity from combined heat-and-power plants to 25% by 2020. This would be double the current figure. The German Renewables Act stipulates a pro rata consumption of heating energy from renewable sources for new buildings. If the homeowner decides in favour of geothermal energy, environmental heating or biomass, these must account for at least half of all heating energy consumption. The minimum figure for solar heating is 15%. The German Energy Efficiency Ordinance governing maximum energy consumption in new buildings now also contains stricter provisions. Reduced energy consumption in old buildings is promoted by schemes like the "market incentive programme" or the "CO 2 building modernisation programme". The proceeds from emissions trading have been used to significantly up the overall funding volume. These measures are designed to reduce primary energy consumption in Germany by 17% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. In order to meet this target, primary energy productivity needs to be doubled – or, put another way – to improve by 3% a year. Between 1990 and 2005, however, the increase was just 1.7%, despite the collapse of the inefficient structures in East Germany. The target is certainly ambitious; this also applies, if not even more so, to the secondary target – an 11% reduction in energy consumption, a variable that has increased modestly yet regularly, at least in the years prior to the onset of the economic crisis. While it is true that energy-consuming appliances are doubtless becoming more and more efficient, there are also significant countertrends: the increasing presence of computers and Internet connections in modern households, for example, the ever-increasing size of refrigerators and TV screens, and the growing spread of consumer electronics. Quite apart from this, electricity is also often used in the form of "efficient energy". Electrically driven thermal energy pumps help to save primary energy, for example. The same applies to the soonto-be-launched electromobiles in the transport sector. As a result, there are serious doubts as to whether we will be able to achieve the 11% target. Moreover, at the end of the last legislative term, political differences prevented the adoption of new energy efficiency legislation by the coalition government. There are also well-founded doubts regarding the targeted growth in the share of electricity generated in combined heat-andpower plants. If subsidies remain at the current level, it is unlikely that the target will be met. A further problem is the exceedingly slow pace at which existing buildings are being modernised. In contrast, the prospects for meeting the targets for electricity from renewables are favourable. The precondition for this, however, is that the construction of new wind energy installations at sea picks up pace following a delay of several years and that the industry succeeds in replacing old and small wind turbines with new, highpowered wind energy installations throughout Germany. All in all, the measures planned to date will not be sufficient to meet the 40% target laid down by the German government. This is the conclusion reached by nearly all the studies conducted to date. The German Environment Agency recently predicted a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 35% at most. A study conducted by the EUtech institute in Aachen and commissioned by Greenpeace arrived at a figure of less than 30%. On climate protection grounds and in order to avoid uncontrolled price rises as well as to ensure supply reliability, it is therefore both expedient and necessary to reach agreement on the significant extension of the operational life of the nuclear power plants in Germany beyond the exit date that is currently planned. 11
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Page 5 and 6: 36 48 Report Positive for the famil
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Page 11: Changing climate Ever since the pub
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Page 18 and 19: Hands-on team spirit - adhering to
Page 20 and 21: We Weiterhin have also wurde adopte
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Page 24: "The intelligent electricity meter
Page 27 and 28: In 2007, the Schachts were one of a
Page 29 and 30: Research and innovation The Researc
Page 31 and 32: Stuttgart - a model region for "ele
Page 33 and 34: joined forces. At the pilot plant,
Page 35 and 36: Anywhere up to 15 companies are act
Page 37 and 38: Local citizens as energy entreprene
Page 40 and 41: Positive for the family through and
Page 42 and 43: Pulling in the same direction - emp
Page 44 and 45: Moreover, knowledge management tool
Page 46 and 47: Responsible and prevention-oriented
Page 48 and 49: 46 Improving quality through qualif
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Page 55 and 56: Stuttgart. In the run-up to Christm
Page 57 and 58: International projects and climate
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