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EXPERTS AND SCIENTISTS: CO2 PRICES AND REQUIREMENTS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH

More than 20 scientists and independent experts, including BAUM Chairwoman Yvonne Zwick, have issued a joint statement warning against neglecting energy efficiency in energy policy. In their appeal to the parties ahead of the general election, they state that energy efficiency "together with the expansion of renewable energies is the key to a sustainable, affordable and socially just energy transition". The signatories call for energy efficiency to be "placed at the centre of [their] election programmes, the upcoming coalition negotiations and future government work."

CO2prices and requirements alone are not enough to drive forward the energy transition, the expert group emphasises. Without additional political measures for energy efficiency and energy saving, not only would the costs of the energy transition increase unnecessarily, there was also a risk of social imbalances, as rising energy prices would hit low-income households particularly hard. At the same time, a lack of efficiency puts companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Inefficient energy use also leads to unnecessarily high grid expansion costs and higher burdens for the energy system. Efficient energy consumption, on the other hand, could reduce peak loads and stabilise the energy system. This would effectively and sustainably limit the need for expensive generation and storage infrastructure as well as the overall costs and risks for society.

Efficiency and renewables go hand in hand

The joint declaration states: ‘One-sided strategies that focus solely on the supply side (decarbonisation of energy sources, CO2 prices, etc.) and ignore the demand side (energy efficiency, energy saving) are not only expensive and inefficient, but also jeopardise social justice, acceptance of the transformation and the achievement of climate targets.’ A sustainable energy system can only succeed if energy efficiency and renewable energies go hand in hand.

Energy efficiency strengthens Germany as a business location

The signatories point out that the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG), which came into force at the end of 2023, set binding energy consumption targets for the first time. These targets must now be implemented with concrete funding strategies, effective standards and targeted advice, which would strengthen Germany's competitiveness, avoid social injustice and stabilise the energy supply in the long term, according to the expert panel.

The first signatories:

Dr. Leonard Burtscher, Jutta Gurkmann, Prof. Dr. Peter Hennicke, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Herrmann, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Irrek, Prof. Dr. Martin Jänicke, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eberhard Jochem, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Prof. Dr. Uwe Leprich, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Meyer, Dr. Werner Neumann, Prof. Dr. Martin Pehnt, Prof. Dr. Peter Radgen, Julia Repenning, Dr. Katharina Reuter, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Sauer, Franzjosef Schafhausen, Stefan Scheuer, Dr. Barbara Schlomann, Max Schön, Dr. Burkhard Schulze Darup, Dr. Stefan Thomas, Dr. Hans-Joachim Ziesing, Yvonne Zwick.

The declaration is open to other interested parties to co-sign. You can download the text of the appeal here.





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