The current Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, was recently quoted during a pre-election town hall event as saying that diesel cars remain a necessity for the time being if the Paris climate change conference goals are to be achieved.
It came out yesterday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now considering bans on petrol and diesel cars — cars that use internal combustion engines (ICE). This possibility has been floated in the UK, France, India, Norway, the Netherlands, and certain German cities. However, it is a significant departure from the norm for the country’s leader, Merkel, to consider such a strong policy, and I would say that even in recent months I wouldn’t have expected it. The auto industry in Germany is just too strong and too interested in a slow transition to electric vehicles, and Merkel is much more a moderate than a revolutionary.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is cranking up the pressure on the German auto industry as it seeks to reorganize coming out of the diesel emissions scandals that shook its foundations. The strong push comes as Merkel seeks re-election and has recognized the mounting global market pressures that are coming to bear on the largely internal combustion–based German auto industry.
Despite more than €20 billion being spent on the country’s green energy sector every year, coal still accounts for around 40% of Germany’s energy mix — that represents an only ~10% drop since 2000, despite all of the money and PR since then.
In response to the announcement by the UK government that the sale of new diesel- and petrol/gas-powered cars will be banned by 2040, a spokesperson for the German government was quoted as saying that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned many times against “demonizing” diesel cars.
Despite all of the talk in recent years about a full-scale transition to renewable energy, Germany remains heavily dependent upon fossil fuels for the continued functioning of its various energy, transportation, industrial, and economic systems. In fact, since the country prioritized closing down its nuclear power stations, it has not gotten nearly as far as it could have shutting down fossil power plants instead. That’s not to say Germany should have taken another route, but that’s the reality of the situation.
Nearly 400 global investors who together manage more than $22 trillion in assets have written to G20 leaders in advance of the G20 summit, urging them to commit to the Paris Agreement and help drive its implementation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, arguably one of the currently most influential leaders in the world, and most certainly one of the more respected, has issued a shot across the bow of Donald Trump’s nascent US leadership in advance of next week’s G20 summit next week, raising the specter of a public and contentious clash over the protectionist and isolationist policies of the United States, in particular its stance on climate change.
Last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met privately with German chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss China’s proposal to require all manufacturers to sell more so-called new energy vehicles. After the meeting, Merkel thought she had an agreement that would allow German companies that manufacture cars in China a little breathing room before complying with the new rules.
Donald Trump brought his act to Europe last week. The reviews from leaders on the Old Continent were decidedly downbeat. Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, remarked after the close of last weekend’s G7 meeting, Europe “really must take our fate into our own hands.” (See video below.) It was a clear sign that the special relationship that has existed between the United States and the rest of the world since the end of World War II is beginning to break apart. What will that mean for the world’s efforts to find effective measures to combat the ravages of climate change? Or the notion of world peace in general?
