The future of energy: can it be green, secure and cheap?

This is the first debate of a two-part event. Tickets are €5, available on the door. Students and apprentices can attend free of charge.

‘To put it bluntly, our economy relied on cheap Russian gas’, said Germany’s economics and climate protection minister Robert Habeck in a recent interview. He also warned of hard times to come. The German government is certainly under pressure, as companies are struggling with high energy prices, and there is much talk of deindustrialisation. But is the current crisis really only linked to the Ukraine war?

Energy has been seen as a problem for many years. Months before the war began, in his first address to parliament, Habeck deplored our insatiable hunger for fossil fuels. And from the start, the government has made it clear that its plan to make Germany carbon neutral by 2045 can only be achieved if we all use less energy.

Yet, affordable and plentiful energy has not only been the bedrock of Germany’s economy. It has also been the basis of our good life. How much we depend on it became clear last winter when were all exhorted to not heat our flats to more than 18 degrees, and cities announced that streets might no longer be lit all night. Without sufficient fossil fuels, neither the treatment of patients in hospitals, communication on the internet or by phone, nor even the delivery of food to shops would be possible.

So, what are we to make of Germany’s current energy policy? Many see further increases in the cost of energy as a necessary step to save the climate. They argue that energy prices must reflect the costs to the environment, too, and not just the cost of production. But it is also clear that high energy prices will affect all of us – and especially the poor. How can the promise of a social and just policy be reconciled with the attempt to reduce energy consumption? And what do we make of the simultaneous promise to also subsidise cheaper energy for industry?
Many are pinning their hopes on alternative energies. The construction of wind and solar farms is indeed progressing steadily. At the same time, the government is sticking to its decision to phase out nuclear power – a low-carbon energy source – while continuing to rely on coal-fired power stations to meet demand. Is Germany’s energy policy entangled in too many contradictions?

Many Germans agree with the aspiration for a low-carbon energy system. At the same time, very few will appreciate further reductions in their living standards. How can this dilemma be overcome? Is saving energy really the right way forward?

The focus on austerity may close our eyes to other, better and more innovative solutions. Is a low-cost, low-carbon and yet plentiful energy system really an impossibility? What could and should an energy policy look like? Where should our energy come from? And whose needs should be prioritised?

Speakers:

Rob Lyons, science and technology director, Academy of Ideas; convenor, AoI Economy Forum
Amardeo Sarma, board member, RePlanet
Thilo Spahl, journalist and book author