ifo Institute: Economists skeptical about coal exit in Germany
German professors of economics are deeply sceptical about the coal exit for the country. Only 27 percent of them believe that the German phase-out can reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Europe, 42 percent of the respondents say that this is not the case, as can be seen from the ifo economists' panel, which is being set up in cooperation with the FAZ.
A "partly" answer came from 24 percent. Niklas Potrafke, Head of the ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy, says: "If there is no change in the certificates for CO2 emissions in the EU, other countries will probably emit more.“ Only a minority of 31 percent of economists believe that Germany has a pioneering role in global climate protection. 50 percent deny this, the rest are undecided. 143 chair holders took part in the survey.
The compensation for the electricity producers has a divided echo. 35 percent support it, 33 percent reject it, 29 percent answered "partly". A majority expects higher electricity prices. 19 percent see up to 10 percent higher prices, 28 percent up to 25 percent more, 15 percent 50 percent more - and three percent even expect prices to be over 50 percent higher. A majority expects gas-fired power plants and electricity imports from other European countries to replace coal-fired power plants in particular. Only a minority see a strong expansion of renewable energies. The 40 billion euro payments recommended by the Commission to the lignite mining areas are too high for 47 percent. Only 13 percent of those questioned think they have the right amount.
The comments show just how dissatisfied the professors are with the coal exit: "CO2 pricing would make climate protection much cheaper," wrote Wolfgang Scherf of the University of Giessen. "The economic logic is systematically ignored," criticised Alfons Weichenrieder of the Goethe University in Frankfurt. "This makes it much more expensive to achieve the environmental goal. Franz Peter Lang of the TU Braunschweig, on the other hand, called the coal exit unavoidable for climate reasons.
