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The German Energiewende under attack: Is there an irrational Sonderweg?

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  • Gawel, Erik
  • Strunz, Sebastian
  • Lehmann, Paul

Abstract

The German energy transition repeatedly faces harsh critiques questioning its economic and environmental merit. This article defends the Energiewende and argues that Germany has chosen a rational and particularly forceful approach to securing sustainable energy supply. Though current expenditures are high, the long-run benefits of transforming the energy system to a renewables-based system are likely to outweigh present investment costs. Furthermore, support policies for renewables are not redundant - as some critics claim - but complement other policy instruments, such as the emissions trading scheme. The article also addresses the motives behind the discrediting attacks on the German energy policy regime. Defense actions by beneficiaries of the former energy market structure are only to be expected, but the attacks from liberal economists are astonishingly fierce.

Suggested Citation

  • Gawel, Erik & Strunz, Sebastian & Lehmann, Paul, 2012. "The German Energiewende under attack: Is there an irrational Sonderweg?," UFZ Discussion Papers 15/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:152012
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Edenhofer, Ottmar & Lessmann, Kai, 2012. "Learning or lock-in: Optimal technology policies to support mitigation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-23.
    2. Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2013. "Why should support schemes for renewable electricity complement the EU emissions trading scheme?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 597-607.
    3. Rüdiger Pethig & Christian Wittlich, 2009. "Interaction of Carbon Reduction and Green Energy Promotion in a Small Fossil-Fuel Importing Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 2749, CESifo.
    4. Fischer, Carolyn & Newell, Richard G., 2008. "Environmental and technology policies for climate mitigation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 142-162, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stephan Bosch & Matthias Schmidt, 2019. "Auswirkungen neuer Energiesysteme auf die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung – Möglichkeiten eines grünen Kapitalismus [Economic development within renewable energy systems – Opportunities for green capit," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 95-111, June.
    2. Sebastian Strunz, Erik Gawel, and Paul Lehmann, 2015. "Towards a general Europeanization of EU Member States energy policies?," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    3. Gawel, Erik & Strunz, Sebastian & Lehmann, Paul, 2014. "Wie viel Europa braucht die Energiewende?," UFZ Discussion Papers 4/2014, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    4. Mohammed Adil Sait & Uchendu Eugene Chigbu & Iqbal Hamiduddin & Walter Timo De Vries, 2018. "Renewable Energy as an Underutilised Resource in Cities: Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ and Lessons for Post-Brexit Cities in the United Kingdom," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-27, December.
    5. Jonas Kaiser & Markus Rhomberg & Axel Maireder & Stephan Schlögl, 2016. "Energiewende’s Lone Warriors: A Hyperlink Network Analysis of the German Energy Transition Discourse," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 18-29.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    energy supply; energy transition; externalities; Germany; renewable energy sources; support policies; sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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