“Draft:Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment (often referred to only as the Coal Commission) was set up by the German Federal Government on 6 June 2018. Following an extension, the Commission is to submit its final report to the German Federal Government at the end of 2018. The Commission is to submit its recommendations for measures for the social and structural development of the lignite regions and for their financial security in writing by the end of October 2018. Within the framework of climate protection policy, a proposal for the phasing out of coal is therefore to be drawn up. In particular, an end date is to be set by when the coal phase-out is to be completed and, at the same time, the Commission is to identify measures with which the current gap to the 2020 climate target can be kept to a minimum.^[1]

Background

A commission to shape the phase-out of nuclear energy had already been set up in Germany under the name of the Ethics Commission for a Secure Energy Supply.

In September 2016, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) called for "a dialogue on how we can achieve the climate targets in the electricity sector that go beyond 2020" in its "Electricity 2030 Impulse Paper".^[2]

It was first mentioned under the name Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Regional Development in the Climate Change Plan 2050, which was adopted on 11 November 2016. The Climate Change Plan provided for the establishment of a body that would "develop a mix of instruments to support structural change, bringing together economic development, structural change, social compatibility and climate protection". The committee was to start work at the beginning of 2018 and, if possible, present results by the end of the same year.^[3]

The German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) wrote: "In the view of the SRU, a commission to phase out coal-fired power generation will only be successful if it acts on the basis of a clear political mandate and the political mandate is clearly defined. The Commission can help to clarify the many open questions regarding the phase-out of coal by consensus. This is not only about the business interests of the companies concerned, the preservation of jobs and structural policy options, but also about guaranteeing the climate and environmental protection. In view of the pressure to act, the climate protection targets and the remaining carbon dioxide emissions budget, the SRU believes it is necessary not only to take a decision on the phase-out of coal-fired power generation in the current legislation, but also to agree on a binding phase-out path. The Federal Government should therefore first determine in a binding manner what contribution the coal sector should make to climate protection, i.e. what remaining carbon dioxide emissions budget will be allocated to coal-fired power generation. The necessary contribution of coal-fired power generation to energy system transformation results from the context of an overall strategy for long-term climate protection. This decision necessarily goes beyond the competence of such a Coal Commission. The target relieves those involved of the question of "whether" and sharpens the focus on the question of "how" a coal phase-out can take place."^[2]

The 2018 coalition agreement also mentions the Commission. In the coalition agreement, the parties wrote that they support the "establishment of a Commission for Action Program to achieve the 40 percent target, reduce coal-fired power generation and secure the necessary structural change."^[4]

References

1. ^{{Cite web|url=http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/030/1903074.pdf|title=Answer of the Federal Government to the small inquiry of the delegates of the parliamentary group DIE LINKE on the future and privileges of the lignite economy in Germany|last=|first=|date=29 June 2018|website=German Bundestag|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}
2. ^¹{{Cite web|url=https://www.umweltrat.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/04_Stellungnahmen/2016_2020/2017_10_Stellungnahme_Kohleausstieg.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=19|title=Initiate coal withdrawal now|last=|first=|date=October 2017|website=Advisory Council on the Environment|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}
3. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Industrie/klimaschutz-klimaschutzplan-2050.html|title=Climate Protection Plan 2050|last=|first=|date=|website=Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=29 November 2018}}
4. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/975226/847984/5b8bc23590d4cb2892b31c987ad672b7/2018-03-14-koalitionsvertrag-data.pdf?download=1|title=Coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD - 19th legislative period|last=|first=|date=12 March 2018|website=Federal Government|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}