Germany must join global initiatives to phase out fossil fuels – Green MP

During the previous administration, you served as parliamentary state secretary in the climate and energy ministry — at a time when the 2022 energy crisis hit Germany with full force. We are now experiencing another crisis, in which dependence on imported fossil fuels once again takes centre stage. Has Germany learned enough from the previous crisis to weather the current one better?

I don't think we've learned enough. The current government is repeating the mistakes of the previous administration without replicating its successes. Petrol price rebates are a widely criticised idea. Back then, we at least introduced the 9-euro public transport ticket alongside relief measures to ease the burden on ordinary people.

We did use the previous crisis to substantially reduce the barriers to expanding renewable energy in Germany – and that was a major success, visible in the solar installation figures and wind energy approvals.

Now we have an energy minister who almost exclusively talks about fossil fuels and rarely mentions that expanding renewables makes us more energy independent. The threat of a reversal I see in current law reform drafts is deeply frustrating. That said, no laws have been passed yet, so we will have to wait and see.

How is the German government presenting itself here in Santa Marta?

My impression is that Germany is going along with proceedings here, but is not playing a leading role. The fact that the energy minister is absent — along with every official from her ministry — speaks for itself.

Is the current federal government doing enough at home to advance the phase-out of fossil fuels?

No. With the heating law reform, they are doing quite the opposite. We have a ban on fossil fuel heating systems taking effect on 1 January 2045, but it is entirely unclear whether that ban will survive the current reform process. Furthermore, the government wants to sustain existing gas networks by blending in green gas through a quota system — yet these gases are urgently needed by the basic materials industry, not diluted into the gas grid. Moreover, there is a real risk of legislation that would hinder the expansion of renewable energy. The government is moving in reverse.

Activists from Fridays for Future took to the streets last week, calling for a gas phase-out in Germany. The coal phase-out involved an intensive, multi-stakeholder process to agree on a plan. Why has there been no equivalent process for gas?

It is clear that we must be off fossil gas by 2045 — the climate targets provide an end date. In the electricity sector, the pathway is relatively straightforward: we need some gas-fired power plants that will eventually run on green hydrogen.

The transition away from gas in the heating sector is considerably more complex. Businesses and households depend on their gas supply; municipal utilities must decide how to manage their gas networks and how to serve remaining customers throughout the transition.

Industry is cited alongside heating as the second major hurdle in any gas phase-out. How can that transition work, and is Germany on the right track?

Many industrial processes require very high temperatures. What is interesting is that electrification is now technically far more feasible than we thought just a few years ago, meaning electricity can replace a significant share of industrial gas use.

However, a large portion of gas is not used for heat but as a raw material — in the production of adhesives or other chemicals, for example. That cannot be replaced by electricity. Biomethane or synthetic methane, produced using green hydrogen, is needed here. It is far too valuable a resource to be blended into the gas grid for households to burn for heating or cooking.

The expansion of the hydrogen economy is not going well. Is that a major obstacle to phasing out gas?

The hydrogen hype has largely fizzled out, and Germany has become very hesitant. Denmark, by contrast, is much further ahead and investing heavily. The question is now: who will capture the business?

Germany sometimes clings too tightly to its old ways, and it costs us economically. We were so attached to the internal combustion engine that we let Chinese competitors overtake us. That is industrial policy failure. We conducted the research on battery technology, but then either missed the window for industrial development or ceded it to Korean and Chinese manufacturers.

What are some factors that can help drive the gas phase-out?

People are far smarter than this government gives them credit for. In March, we saw a record number of pure electric vehicle registrations — more than petrol cars. That momentum is accelerating because of the energy crisis: electric cars are simply cheaper to run. Demand for solar technicians is also surging. The public is driving electrification forward despite government reluctance.

And it is not purely about cost. People also do not want to be dependent — not on Putin, not on Trump, not on authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

So, what is the outlook for a gas phase-out in Germany?

The coal phase-out will happen fairly quickly. But phasing out gas requires large volumes of renewable electricity, and my concern – given the current legislative proposals from the economy ministry – is that we will face a serious electricity shortfall within a few years. Private consumption will rise sharply due to e-mobility and heat pumps, and industrial demand will grow too. If the expansion of renewables is throttled now, and if grid expansion stalls, we will be in serious trouble within five years.