The third great German delusion is von der Leyen’s Green Transformation. It revolves around the EU Green Deal, which aims for climate neutrality by 2050 and substantial emission reductions by 2030. Its core elements are the expansion of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, hydro) through massive public subsidies, a carbon pricing regime (EU Emissions Trading System) and the decarbonisation of the European industrial sector.
The Green Transformation was foreshadowed by Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition), launched by Merkel long before the EU Green Deal, aimed to phase out coal, reduce reliance on other fossil fuels and to phase out Germany’s then world-leading civilian nuclear industry.
Germany’s economics minister Habeck of the Green party, a former children’s books author, stepped up and expedited Merkel’s green policies from 2021 and later oversaw the closure of Germany’s last remaining nuclear plants. He famously boasted, though there may be pains during the transition phase, German heavy industry could be fully powered by “renewables” without raising production costs and that the New Germany was on the verge of another second “green” economic miracle.
