Energy efficiency sector has low hopes for German climate cabinet outcome – survey

Companies in Germany's energy efficiency sector doubt that sufficient measures will be presented at the government's climate cabinet meeting on September 20, shows a sector survey conducted by the German Industry Initiative for Energy Efficiency (DENEFF) and PwC. "The federal government's evasiveness in recent years has greatly destroyed confidence," said DENEFF managing director Martin Bornholdt. The almost 350 professionals surveyed consider political framework conditions to be the most important factor providing impulses for their sector – more important than energy price development and technological innovation. "The technology and knowledge are in many cases there and you could do a lot more with the right political framework conditions," said Volker Breisig, partner at PwC, at a press conference in Berlin, adding that policy must now promote demand for energy efficiency measures. Seventy-five percent of the surveyed professionals stated that they were in favour of a reform of taxes and levies on energy consumption, while about half of the respondents supported higher subsidies as well as more regulatory requirements and bans.

Energy efficiency in Germany has increased "well below the target values" set by the government, notes the German Energy Agency (dena) in its 2018 integrated energy transition study. An annual 2.1 percent increase in final energy productivity is targeted in the government's energy concept, but between 2008 and 2017 the annual average growth was only 1.15 percent. The energy productivity indicator specifies how much economic output (GDP) is produced per unit of energy used. dena's study warns that "the other targets of the energy transition cannot be achieved without a change of course" in energy efficiency. [Note: This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.]