December 13, 2023 – The German traffic light coalition began its term two years ago with ambitious energy policy goals. Halfway through the legislative period, its track record is mixed. Good progress has been made in some areas, but in others a large gap between targets and the status quo remains. The Ampel-Monitor Energiewende by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) shows...
International trade separates the location where emissions occur (production) and where they are ultimately consumed. Thus, a substantial share of emissions is embodied in international trade. Moreover, firms within narrowly defined industries differ in their emission intensity. However, most firm-level studies only consider the direct emissions released during the production process. In this...
The conversion of electricity generation to renewable energies such as wind and solar is the most important building block for a climate-neutral economy and Germany's independence from energy imports. The energy crisis in the wake of the war in Ukraine shows that an acceleration of the energy transition is urgently needed. "Contracts for Differences" (CfDs) can be an effective means of promoting the ...
Die EU-Richtlinie über die Gesamtenergieeffizienz von Gebäuden (EPBD) etabliert eine neue gesellschaftliche Norm und ein großes politisches Ziel: Bis 2033 sollten alle Wohngebäude einen Mindeststandard an Energieeffizienz erreichen. So sollen Energiekosten und Schocks für Haushalte begrenzt werden und der Energiebedarf reduziert werden, um eine klimaneutrale Energieversorgung für alle zu...
The interdisciplinary linking of data from different sources from different knowledge disciplines through linked (research) data infrastructure services has become more and more important. As part of the pioneering project “Social and Spatial Research Data Infrastructure (SoRa),” a technical and organizational infrastructure was developed to ensure the prototypical linking of the research data...
The European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) is the key policy tool of the EU to reduce GHG emissions. To prevent carbon leakage, most of the emission permits have been allocated for free in the industrial sector. A carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced end of 2023 as an alternative carbon leakage protection instrument. However, the CBAM will only gradually replace free...
The energy and climate crisis enhance the need for energy savings. In the building sector, these savings can be achieved primarily through thermal retrofitting. So far, progress in this area has been slow. To date, less than one percent of the residential building stock in Germany is retrofitted each year. The existing support programs alone offer too little reliability for the necessary...