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submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by Lugh@futurology.today to c/futurology@futurology.today

"German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the plan "combines independence, affordability and climate protection.........It is not just extreme weather events around the world that demonstrate how urgently we need to do more to protect the climate," he said. "If the situation in the Strait of Hormuz determines whether people can still afford their daily commute to work, that is not a good state of affairs."

If there's been an upside to the Middle East War, it's that it's been a giant advertisement for renewable energy. Not just cheaper, cleaner, & better, crucially it means energy-independence, too.

Smart move by Germany. Their industrial and manufacturing base is getting clobbered by China because they stuck with the dying fossil fuel paradigm for too long. Every other EU nation has committed to ending fossil fuel use, hopefully this further accelerates their efforts, too.

Germany sets out plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2045

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[-] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 38 points 5 days ago

"Just another 20 years haha guys I swear"

[-] PuddleOfKittens@sh.itjust.works 19 points 5 days ago

They provided an actual roadmap, which presumably has steps with deadlines earlier than 2045. If anyone can read German, please let me know what the roadmap says.

[-] ATPA9@feddit.org 4 points 5 days ago

they have an english version of the roadmap. If you read it, can you give a tldr?

[-] uselessartifact@lemmy.zip 10 points 5 days ago

Germany's Fossil Fuel Transition Roadmap (Sept 2026):

  • Legally bound to cut emissions 65% by 2030, 88% by 2040, net-zero by 2045 (Federal Climate Action Act). Already at ~48% cut since 1990, while GDP grew ~48% over the same period.
  • Fossil fuels still 65% of final energy consumption; Germany imports ~98% of its oil, ~95% of gas, 100% of hard coal; costing ~€76bn/year.
  • Renewables hit 55% of gross electricity consumption in 2025, targeting 80% by 2030. Coal power must end by 2038 (possibly 2035).
  • 2025 was the first year heat pumps outsold gas boilers in Germany (48% market share).
  • EVs were 32% of new car registrations in Aug 2026; EU mandates 100% by 2035.
  • New gas/oil heating systems installed after July 2026 must phase in carbon-neutral fuel blends starting 2029. 2026 Climate Action Programme: 67 measures projected to cut ~27 million tonnes CO2 and reduce gas/petrol imports significantly by 2030.
  • Internationally: Germany's spent ~€11.8bn on climate finance in 2024, backs Just Energy Transition Partnerships (South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Senegal), and quit the Energy Charter Treaty in 2023 over it undermining coal phase-out.

Source: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, "Germany's Roadmap for Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels" (Sept 2026).

[-] mirshafie@europe.pub 2 points 4 days ago

I'd be the first to cheer if Germany can pull this off, but I'm a bit cynical about their energy policy. Between keeping coal around for so long, shutting down their nuclear power plants without replacing them, and over-reliance on wind I'm a bit apprehensive.

Doubtful but hopeful.

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[-] SolacefromSilence@fedia.io 58 points 6 days ago

Wait a second, my utility company was telling me the same thing 20 years ago. I wonder if their voluntary and toothless promises made a difference?

** checks current energy mix ** Nope, they still only allocate green energy as legally required, since they can still build (and earn rate of return on) more fossil fuel infrastructure. Surely they wouldn't lie twice?

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[-] weps@lemmy.world 50 points 6 days ago

Are they talking about the US-Israel war in the middle east?

[-] frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io 22 points 6 days ago

As usual for the last 40 years

[-] frank@sopuli.xyz 12 points 5 days ago

The what? Oh the Epstein Files War!

[-] adjectivenoun@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

You're gonna have to be more specific.

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 days ago

~~2000 2010 2020 2030~~ 2045

[-] freebee@sh.itjust.works 26 points 5 days ago

They just pumped another 2,5 billion euros into making petrol at the pump cheaper for everyone... Surely a government truly commited to this energy transition would have invested those 2,5 billions elsewhere ay

[-] MBech@feddit.dk 14 points 5 days ago

It's a short term solution to help poor people who are most affected by rising fuel costs. Would it be better to invest that money in something else? Probably, but people need help, and ignoring them just punishes the wrong people.

[-] saimen@feddit.org 13 points 5 days ago

The thing is that it also helps people who don't need it and most of all it helps the fossil fuel industry. So it really just is a subsidy for fossil fuel. They could have supported poor people with more targeted solutions.

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[-] Mangoholic@lemmy.ml 13 points 5 days ago

Yeah but its a bad solution here aswell. Since the fossil Industry just ups their profits from it and they don't have a cap on the price. So its basically just tax money gifted, that got cut from social funding.

[-] freebee@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 days ago

Giesskanne is the dumbest way possible to do this. Yes, some people need support now, I agree. Certain professions, certain kinds of cars. But the way they do this now I am de facto financing the gassing up of many very inefficient cars owned by people do not care about climate and do not need the discount because they have/earn plenty anyway. It would be a perfect time to introduces tempolimit on autobahn, that would save a large amount of petrol (and many other positive side effects) and as we know a lower demand lowers the price of scarce products. What they do now is quite the opposite of trying to reach 100 % renewable in 20 years... It is a very bad policy decision in every single way imaginable, for climate, for tax payers and the health of the public budget, for the future of the economy: on every single level this is a bad policy.

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[-] obvs@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

A country could easily become carbon neutral by killing all of its citizens.

But you wouldn't advocate for that, because while it would succeed in the semantics it would fail in the pragmatics.

The citizens have to be able to survive the transition, bro.

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[-] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 14 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

"Yes Mom I'll clean my room, but first let me trash it for another 20 years, then I'll hire a crew with your money to rebuild the house."

[-] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 7 points 5 days ago

lol, set it far enough in the future that it's a worthless promise aka kick the can down the road.

if they'd said by 2030, then i'd pay attention.

[-] BilSabab@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

yeah, sure. German energy strategy is basically as sound as a shaggy dog story. they just want that sweet russian gas back.

[-] captcha@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 3 points 4 days ago

When another oil pipe was bombed somewhere in September and the prices hiked, I saw people commenting that it's ‘your rulers [oligarchs] doing that to push EV [electric vehicles] on us’ which seems like the most misdirected rage I've seen (yet) and maybe most uninformed. I wonder if the comment came from the US

[-] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Always planning in the far future so politics can change...and someone else can be blamed for it not happening. Sheesh, we are so screwed. I never thought in my wildest dreams that we as a species would be cheering on climate change. Even this is too little too late.

[-] Darkonion@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Yeah, 20 years seems like the magic 'far away' number that makes promises worthless.

[-] azimir@lemmy.ml 16 points 6 days ago

It's been long apparent to anyone not in a oil/car executive's pay that building your national infrastructure around imported oil is a huge national security danger. Not just a risk, but a known event that you're ensuring will take out that nation once the gas stops flowing.

I feel the CDU is full of shit in many things, but if they could finally get behind moving to rewables across the board by rightfully positioning it as the national defense strategy it is, then get moving.

Meanwhile in Canada.... .MOAR PIPELINES!

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[-] bold_atlas@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Who could have predicted such a war? Or the climate collapse? Or the invasion of Ukraine?

They all just came out of nowhere.

[-] mirshafie@europe.pub 3 points 4 days ago

The war against Iran did not come out of nowhere. The USA has been overt about wanting "regime change" for Iran since 2001, and since Trump's last term especially. Meanwhile Iran has been very open about how they would respond in case they were attacked by the USA: punish all US-aligned countries in the region, close the Strait of Hormuz, close Bab al-Mandab, and target Israel directly and indirectly.

So this was very predictable and that's why lots of people have been talking about it since 2017.

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[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

Me: *checks watch* . . . Uh, yeah, now is . . . now is good. I mean. Yeah.

[-] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 5 points 5 days ago

"Now"? No no no, we can't do "now", please be patient and wait another 20 years

[-] chunes@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Trump the environmentalist

[-] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 days ago

I mean, Genghis Khan did something similar.

[-] captcha@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 2 points 4 days ago

We should've given Genghis Khan some FIFA prize, too

[-] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 7 points 6 days ago

Schneider, of the center-left Social Democratic Party,

CDU energy minister, and with CDU head of state, have campaigned/said they are going the other way. Is Schneider speaking for a unified government here? Backed up by rest of cabinet?

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Donald Trump the Climate Stalinist

[-] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 days ago

The article is mostly about petrol for cars, it briefly mentions reliance on gas (for electricity). Do germans have gas connections to heat their house and cook?

[-] kossa@feddit.org 3 points 5 days ago

Do germans have gas connections to heat their house and cook?

Yes

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[-] eleitl@lemmy.zip 6 points 6 days ago

Bullllshit.

[-] BanMeFromPosting@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 days ago

Actual renewables or "biofuels"?

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this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2026
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