Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash
Germany should be a beacon of climate hope. The country has adopted renewable energy at an astonishing rate, its automotive industries are currently phasing out fossil fuels for battery technology, and, as one of the leading European economies, they are a significant presence at international climate conferences. But it seems Germany is determined to mire this opportunity to lead the world, and is ignoring climate scientists’ advice and even going against its own climate pledges. Why? Because Germany isn’t tackling misinformation or its own corruption, past and present, properly. Let me explain.
This all came to a head when Germany recently announced they intend to invest in foreign unabated (untapped) natural gas projects until 2025. This is despite the agreement Germany signed in 2021 at COP26, in which Germany and 25 other countries agreed to halt public financing of new fossil fuel projects overseas by the end of 2022. This agreement would, in theory, divert $22 billion per year away from plant-wrecking fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. That is enough to build 45,833 MW of solar capacity per year, which is enough to power a decent-sized country!
This COP26 agreement didn’t just come out of thin air. It was based on a 2021 IEA report, which found that in order to meet our climate targets, investments in unabated fossil fuels need to halt immediately. If not, then reaching net-zero by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is nearly impossible. Just a reminder here that if we breach these limits, it could threaten billions of lives, crash our economies, and even threaten the stability of our governments. This report basically told the international community, “This is your last chance; this is what you must do or face hell.”
But fossil fuels remain one of the most lucrative businesses out there, giving the companies and shareholders of the fossil fuel industry incredible sway over their governments. In order to make such a sudden and drastic global shift against this poisonous industry would require a powerful country to spearhead it, so other countries have no excuse not to follow suit. As Germany has positioned itself at the centre of…
