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Fossil Fuels in a Carbon-Constrained World Read chapter Read first chapter

2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

12. The Role of German Regime Actors and Trade Unions in the Energy Transition: Agency and Power

Author : Stefan Bößner

Published in: The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The German energy transition is an interesting beast. While the share of renewable energies in the power sector has reached impressive dimensions, the country’s emissions remain stubbornly high. One reason for this counter intuitive development is the significant role coal has played and continues to play in Germany’s energy mix and in the German economy. This chapter shines a light on this continuous love affair with coal and investigates how coal has historically shaped the German economy, its energy system and even the cultural identity of coal regions. Furthermore, the chapter analyses the role of German coal stakeholders such as utilities and labour unions and investigates the agency and power those stakeholders are still able to wield in order to prop up the fossil fuel-based energy system. By doing so, the chapter offers some explanations on why tackling coal as an energy source has been so difficult in Germany.

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previous chapter On the New Paradigm of International Energy Development: Risks and Challenges for RussiaRussia and the World on the Way to the Low-Carbon Future
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Footnotes
1
Indeed, one peculiarity of the German energy transition is its participatory nature. It is estimated that 42% of all renewables installations in Germany are owned by individuals or cooperatives, often summarised under the term Bürgerenergie (citizen energy) (Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 2018).
 
2
It is important to note that particularly the Anglo-Saxon media have taken a liking to criticising the German energy transition, often using quite unbalanced arguments.
 
3
In 2010, Decision 2010/787/EU specified that all subsidies to hard coal mines should be phased out by 2018.
 
4
Allowance prices can be found at the EEX website.
 
5
Source: company reports; revenues for all operations (German and global).
 
6
This chapter was written and submitted in 2018 while the coal commission’s recommendations have only been available since the end of January 2019. Therefore, recommendations given in this chapter are not based on the recommendations of the coal commission, but on academic and grey literature. However, it is safe to assume that significant overlaps in this chapter’s recommendations and those of the coal commission might be found. Since this chapter mainly investigates the power and agency of German coal actors and not how exactly and at what cost a coal phase out might be achieved, the absence of a careful analysis of the coal commission report is justified.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Role of German Regime Actors and Trade Unions in the Energy Transition: Agency and Power
Author
Stefan Bößner
Copyright Year
2020
Book
The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28075-8

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-28076-5

Copyright Year: 2020

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28076-5_12