ifo Schnelldienst 06/2021: How Fair Is the Energy Transition?

How Fair Is the Energy Transition? Distributional Effects in German Energy and Climate Policy

Germany has raised its climate targets following the EU’s decision to tighten European climate targets and the ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on the partial unconstitutionality of the Climate Protection Act. Greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by at least 65 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, and climate neutrality is to be achieved by 2045. Achieving the climate targets will require comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the energy and transport sectors. Implementation will be critical to the level and distribution of the burden. Who will primarily have to bear the costs of the energy turnaround and the associated burdens?

With contributions from:

• Andreas Löschel, Energy and Climate Policy Does Not Come Free
• Till Baldenius, Tobias Bernstein, Matthias Kalkuhl, Maximilian von Kleist-Retzow, and Nicolas Koch, Regulatory Law or Price Instruments? On the Distributional Impact of Climate Protection Measures in Transport
• Anke Bekk, Anne Held, and Jan George, CO2-Based Refinancing of Renewable Support – What Are the Consequences for End Users and Sector Coupling Technologies?
• Doina Radulescu, Distributional Impacts of CO2 Pricing and Renewable Energy Expansion
• Michael Pahle, Stephan Sommer, and Linus Mattauch, How Fairness Affects Public Approval of Carbon Pricing
• Daniela Setton and Ortwin Renn, How Fair Is the Energy Transition? Results of a Panel Study on Perceived Fairness in Cost Allocation
• Hartmut Kahl, CO2 Price with Reimbursement: (How) Does It Work?
• Karen Pittel, The Federal Constitutional Court’s Decision and the Intertemporal Distribution of the Burden of Climate Policy