Germany

By Rachel Waldholz | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Germany produced more than half of its electricity with renewable power in the first three months of 2020, the first full quarter in which renewables covered the majority of the country’s electricity needs. The numbers were driven by record wind and high solar production in […]

Featured

White Terrorism targeting Innocent Muslims in Germany is not termed “Terrorism”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Thursday, a racist extremist went to two shisha bars in Hanau, Germany, randomly shooting the people there. Since smoking hookah is a Middle Eastern custom, he clearly thought he could be sure of killing Muslims at these establishments. He killed a pregnant woman and bar staff, leaving at least […]

Climate Crisis

Coalxit? Germany, 4th Largest Economy, Officially Approves Phase-Out of Coal

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The German government has officially approved the end of coal-fired power production in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet adopted a law detailing plant shutdowns and compensation payments for coal companies, confirming a commission proposal made last year to end coal no later than 2038. The […]

Antisemitism

Auschwitz 75 years on: preserving survivors’ voices and listening to those of their children

The Conversation

By Sara Jones | – In December 2019, four people were shot dead at a kosher market in New Jersey, a horrific knife attack was perpetrated at a rabbi’s home in a New York suburb, and antisemitic graffiti was daubed on a synagogue and several shops in north London. Despite what many might think, antisemitism […]

Climate Crisis

The Anti-Trump: Merkel’s Germany dumps 20% of Its Coal Use, CO2 Falls 7%, Renewables at 40%

Clean Energy Wire

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Germany has seen a second year of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, as coal use fell by more than 20 percent and energy production from renewables increased, preliminary calculations by energy research group AG Energiebilanzen show. While the country’s overall energy use […]

Germany

Green Democracy: This small German town took back the power – and went fully renewable

The Conversation

By Bertie Russell | – The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of “Green New Deals” – a reference to Roosevelt’s economic reform programme in the 1930s – have been proposed over the past 12 months in the US, Europe, and the UK. Such policies […]

Climate Crisis

Turning point in Climate Activism? Germans Block Coal Mines with their Bodies

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Deutsche Welle reports that that more than 1,000 green activists made their way past police lines and blocked trains at 3 important coal mines in eastern Germany on Saturday. A few clashes took place between police and protesters. The environmental group End of the Road claimed more like 4,000 people […]

Germany

Brexit decides Tesla to Open Gigafactory in Germany in Win for E-Mobility

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – Tesla’s announcement to build a “gigafactory” for e-car production in Germany is likely to speed up the slow shift to electric mobility in the country, politicians and mobility experts have said. Media called the announcement a “head-on attack” on the country’s mighty carmakers BMW, Daimler and VW that will force […]

Climate Crisis

Germany’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions to Fall “Markedly” in 2019 as Energy Use Declines

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann and Julian Wettengel | – Germany is headed for second consecutive year of substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as a sharp drop in coal consumption is driving a decline of the country’s overall energy use in 2019. If this trend continues, the country could get much closer to its 2020 climate […]