In brief | 12 March '26
Kiel Institute: Spring Forecast: Energy prices weigh on Germany's sluggish recovery
Upward forces remain subdued and are temporarily dampened by the most recent spike in energy prices.
NYTimes: Germany’s oil and gas output is dwindling as prices rise
Natural gas production in Germany has fallen about 80 percent in the past two decades even as the country seeks to replace flows from Russia.
DW: Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is in favour of a proposal to build new nuclear power plants in the EU. German chancellor Friedrich Merz says it is impossible.
Argus: Italy to ask for immediate EU ETS suspension
Italy will ask for an immediate suspension of the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) for fossil fuel-fired power producers to help curb energy prices ahead of a more comprehensive review of the system later in the year, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said.
ECCO: Gas, not ETS, is driving Italy’s energy bills
The climate change think tank ECCO has warned that the temporary suspension of the EU ETS, as proposed by Italy’s government, would affect only a marginal component of electricity bills, leaving the real driver of high prices untouched.
Cleantech for Europe: Open letter - European Industry needs the predictability of a robust ETS to compete and invest
Several industrial companies signed a joint letter opposing a weakening of the EU ETS.
Carbon Brief: CCC: Net-zero will protect UK from fossil-fuel price shocks
The “cost” of cutting UK emissions to net-zero is less than the cost of a single fossil-fuel price shock, according to a new report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC).
European Commission calls on 19 EU member states to submit their draft National Building Renovation Plans
The plans are an essential and strategic tool for countries to transform their building stock into a high-performing, energy-efficient, decarbonised asset by 2050.
Reuters: RWE targets gas-fired power plants in $20 billion US expansion
Germany's largest power producer, RWE, said it would expand more aggressively in the United States, a market where data centres have significantly fuelled power demand, by investing in new gas-fired power plants.
Reuters: Uniper to pay first dividend in four years as government exit nears
State-owned utility Uniper will pay a dividend for the first time in four years, it said, as the group prepares for a return to the stock exchange in an expected ownership exit by the government.
Bloomberg: BMW projects flat automaking margin as tariffs remain a drag
BMW AG sees little room for improving carmaking profitability this year due to tariffs and intensifying competition in China.
CATF: Capacity mechanisms? There's a better way to handle electricity reliability in Europe
CATF proposes coordinated, cross-border procurement that could cut excess capacity needs by up to 70 percent at the EU level, paired with mechanism designs that actively drive investment in clean firm power.
ZEW: Climate targets compatible with greater cost efficiency – analysis
With the planned new EU emissions trading scheme for buildings and road transport (ETS2), starting in 2028, European climate policy can become significantly more cost-efficient.