2023-06-11 15:50:35
Clear criticism from world politics of the German energy strategy!
The Turkish economic expert and head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol (65) tells BILD what he thinks of Germany’s nuclear phase-out and the increase in coal imports.
Among other things, the IEA advises the EU states and the USA on all urgent energy issues. BILD met Birol at an IEA conference in Versailles near Paris.
BILD: Mr. Birol, the EU wants to use the Ecodesign Directive to promote a massive expansion of heat pumps in Europe. Do we have enough power for these new rules?
Birol: “The European electricity system has been working well so far. I hope we will produce more electricity in the future. I wish Europe had more electricity at a reasonable price than it has now. That’s going to be difficult.”
Birol’s voice carries weight with major heads of state: Fatih Birol (right) at the G7 conference in Hiroshima at the end of May with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (64), US President Joe Biden (80, left) and the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau (51, 2nd from left) and Australia Anthony Albanese (60)
Can we do it with the resources available? Germany has massively increased its coal imports since the end of 2021. What do you think of this development?
Birol: “I hope this remains an emergency measure. Germany made a historic mistake in making itself dependent on one country – Russia. Many citizens and many companies are paying the price for this mistake today, following Germany stopped buying gas from Russia. In order to prevent cold apartments and power outages, the emergency measure coal import was necessary.”
Was it a mistake to phase out nuclear power at the same time?
Birol: “I’ve always said that Europe needs to diversify its energy sources and become more self-sufficient. And that’s why I would always be hesitant to shut down own energy sources. I would not have shut down the nuclear power plants in Germany.”
Germany should not believe that it can replace gas and nuclear power with coal in the long term
How do you rate the fact that Germany has opted for coal as a bridging technology: hard coal from countries such as South Africa and Colombia and lignite from its own areas?
Birol: “I very much hope that the short-term reference will remain. Germany should not think that it can permanently replace Russian gas and nuclear power with coal.”
Fatih Birol in conversation with BILD reporter Felix Rupprecht at the IEA conference in Versailles near Paris
In order to achieve climate goals and limit global warming, the International Energy Agency insists on more energy efficiency. Greenhouse gas emissions might be significantly reduced in this way.
In order to achieve the climate goals, progress in energy efficiency must be doubled by 2030. In this way, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees might be kept within reach while at the same time making energy supply safer and more affordable.
Birol calls for speed in the expansion of renewables
The heat pump is one of the top instruments for energy efficiency. But it needs a lot of renewable electricity to be useful in the fight once morest climate change.
In the last twelve months, CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity in Germany were 330 grams. This puts us at regarding the same level as Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The expansion of renewables is more important than ever following the nuclear power phase-out. However, the tripling of the pace envisaged by the federal government is a long way off.
“Today and tomorrow, Germany must do everything in the expansion of wind and solar energy – and the day following tomorrow in hydrogen,” Birol concludes.
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