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| Missing Its Own Goals, Germany Renews Effort to Cut Carbon Emissions | Missing Its Own Goals, Germany Renews Effort to Cut Carbon Emissions |
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| BERLIN — Germany has fallen behind in its ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions. It is burning more coal than at any point since 1990. And German companies are complaining that the nation’s energy policies are hurting their ability to compete globally. | BERLIN — Germany has fallen behind in its ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions. It is burning more coal than at any point since 1990. And German companies are complaining that the nation’s energy policies are hurting their ability to compete globally. |
| But on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government said it was redoubling its efforts, proposing new measures to help it reach the emissions-reduction target for 2020 it set seven years ago when it undertook an aggressive effort to combat climate change. | But on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government said it was redoubling its efforts, proposing new measures to help it reach the emissions-reduction target for 2020 it set seven years ago when it undertook an aggressive effort to combat climate change. |
| The new plan was unveiled by a country eager to retain a leadership position in international talks to address the threat from global warming. The plan underscored Ms. Merkel’s commitment despite the problems it has caused her at home. | The new plan was unveiled by a country eager to retain a leadership position in international talks to address the threat from global warming. The plan underscored Ms. Merkel’s commitment despite the problems it has caused her at home. |
| The plan calls on Germans to cut an additional 62 million to 78 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the annual output of about seven million German households. That would triple emission reductions from current levels, spreading the cuts across sectors like agriculture and automobiles. | The plan calls on Germans to cut an additional 62 million to 78 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the annual output of about seven million German households. That would triple emission reductions from current levels, spreading the cuts across sectors like agriculture and automobiles. |
| The program, which would be established by laws to be passed by Parliament, rests on improved energy efficiency, with 3 billion euros, or $3.7 billion, in tax breaks and other incentives. | The program, which would be established by laws to be passed by Parliament, rests on improved energy efficiency, with 3 billion euros, or $3.7 billion, in tax breaks and other incentives. |
| Roughly a third of the cuts are to come from the power industry, even as coal-fired plants continue to play an essential role. | Roughly a third of the cuts are to come from the power industry, even as coal-fired plants continue to play an essential role. |
| Germany’s predicament reflects the difficulty faced by modern economies in reducing carbon as an energy source. But polls show that most Germans favor reducing emissions. | Germany’s predicament reflects the difficulty faced by modern economies in reducing carbon as an energy source. But polls show that most Germans favor reducing emissions. |
| “If we want to keep our promise, we need to close this gap, and that is what we are doing,” Barbara Hendricks, Ms. Merkel’s environment minister, said at a news conference on Wednesday. | “If we want to keep our promise, we need to close this gap, and that is what we are doing,” Barbara Hendricks, Ms. Merkel’s environment minister, said at a news conference on Wednesday. |
| Ms. Hendricks is to present Germany’s position next week in Lima, Peru, to leaders who are working to create the basis for a new global agreement on emissions reductions ahead of a world summit in Paris next year. Last month, China and the United States, the world’s two biggest polluters, announced plans to lower carbon emissions. | Ms. Hendricks is to present Germany’s position next week in Lima, Peru, to leaders who are working to create the basis for a new global agreement on emissions reductions ahead of a world summit in Paris next year. Last month, China and the United States, the world’s two biggest polluters, announced plans to lower carbon emissions. |
| The World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday that 2014 was on track to be the warmest year on record. “This is an important message for negotiators so that they know that decisions have to be taken quickly,” Michel Jarraud, the organization’s secretary general, said in Geneva. He added that the evidence linking human-generated carbon emissions to climate change was much stronger than it was 20 years ago, and a “lack of knowledge is no longer an excuse for inaction.” | The World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday that 2014 was on track to be the warmest year on record. “This is an important message for negotiators so that they know that decisions have to be taken quickly,” Michel Jarraud, the organization’s secretary general, said in Geneva. He added that the evidence linking human-generated carbon emissions to climate change was much stronger than it was 20 years ago, and a “lack of knowledge is no longer an excuse for inaction.” |
| Ms. Merkel made her debut on the international stage as Germany’s environment minister by marshaling support for the Kyoto agreement in 1997, and has made it clear that she wants Germany to remain at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change. | Ms. Merkel made her debut on the international stage as Germany’s environment minister by marshaling support for the Kyoto agreement in 1997, and has made it clear that she wants Germany to remain at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change. |
| She helped rally the European Union’s 28 leaders around the issue in October, and intends to use her country’s turn at the Group of 7 summit meeting next year to push for a Paris accord. | She helped rally the European Union’s 28 leaders around the issue in October, and intends to use her country’s turn at the Group of 7 summit meeting next year to push for a Paris accord. |
| But the German union that represents workers in the mining, chemical and energy industries warned Berlin that the latest round of cuts could affect jobs in the country’s coal-rich and industrial regions. | But the German union that represents workers in the mining, chemical and energy industries warned Berlin that the latest round of cuts could affect jobs in the country’s coal-rich and industrial regions. |
| Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, members of the union had gathered thousands of signatures demanding German leaders provide “affordable electricity and good jobs.” Sigmar Gabriel, the minister for economic affairs and energy, has pledged to give utilities free rein to decide where and how they make further emissions cuts, with an eye to unions’ close ties to his center-left Social Democratic Party. | Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, members of the union had gathered thousands of signatures demanding German leaders provide “affordable electricity and good jobs.” Sigmar Gabriel, the minister for economic affairs and energy, has pledged to give utilities free rein to decide where and how they make further emissions cuts, with an eye to unions’ close ties to his center-left Social Democratic Party. |
| Last year, 45 percent of Germany’s power came from hard coal and the soft brown coal known as lignite, the highest level since 2007, according to data from AG Energiebilanzen, a group of energy lobbying firms and economic research institutes. That compares with 25 percent of energy from renewable resources. | Last year, 45 percent of Germany’s power came from hard coal and the soft brown coal known as lignite, the highest level since 2007, according to data from AG Energiebilanzen, a group of energy lobbying firms and economic research institutes. That compares with 25 percent of energy from renewable resources. |
| Since Germany began shutting down its 17 nuclear power plants, a drive that gained speed after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, it has increasingly depended on coal-fired plants for the flow of power needed by the country’s large industrial base. Its dependence on coal is the highest in nearly 25 years, when many of East Germany’s worst-polluting factories and plants were shut down after reunification with the West. | Since Germany began shutting down its 17 nuclear power plants, a drive that gained speed after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, it has increasingly depended on coal-fired plants for the flow of power needed by the country’s large industrial base. Its dependence on coal is the highest in nearly 25 years, when many of East Germany’s worst-polluting factories and plants were shut down after reunification with the West. |
| Soft coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn, is Germany’s cheapest and most abundant natural resource. Hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on the lignite mines and the power industry they support, and workers are growing increasingly fearful that Germany’s energy revolution will cost them their livelihoods. | Soft coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn, is Germany’s cheapest and most abundant natural resource. Hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on the lignite mines and the power industry they support, and workers are growing increasingly fearful that Germany’s energy revolution will cost them their livelihoods. |
| Many of Germany’s leading industries, like chemicals and aluminum, are based in the coal-rich Rhine region, contributing to Germany’s post-World War II economic strength. But in recent years, energy-intensive companies have been looking abroad to expand their businesses. | |
| Frank Löllgen, the head of the trade union’s western North Rhine region, said the trend worried the 107,000 workers he represented. The union has been urging the government to remember energy’s role in the economy’s continuing the success it has had in recent years. | Frank Löllgen, the head of the trade union’s western North Rhine region, said the trend worried the 107,000 workers he represented. The union has been urging the government to remember energy’s role in the economy’s continuing the success it has had in recent years. |
| “We already are on the edge of what is possible,” Mr. Löllgen said in an interview at his Düsseldorf office. “Is it worth it if we as a country succeed in reaching our targets in reducing carbon emissions, but sacrifice good jobs and our industrial base?” | “We already are on the edge of what is possible,” Mr. Löllgen said in an interview at his Düsseldorf office. “Is it worth it if we as a country succeed in reaching our targets in reducing carbon emissions, but sacrifice good jobs and our industrial base?” |