Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel

Economic researchers from various countries have called on the EU to view the energy crisis following the Russian attack on Ukraine as a wake-up call and to strive for better cooperation in Europe. “Not only can switching to non-fossil energy sources reduce strategic dependency: if done correctly, it can also lower electricity prices and help the EU and its member states achieve their climate targets. Further integration of the European electricity markets and gas grids is essential in order to better balance out regional shortages,” they write in a paper for the EconPol Europe research network.

Plusieurs économistes de différents pays ont demandé à l'UE de considérer la crise énergétique mondiale résultant de l'invasion de l'Ukraine par la Russie comme un signal d'alarme et de favoriser une meilleure coopération en Europe. « Le passage aux sources d'énergie non fossiles peut non seulement réduire la dépendance stratégique, mais aussi –s'il est correctement effectué – baisser le prix de l'électricité et aider l'UE et ses États membres à atteindre leurs objectifs climatiques. La poursuite de l'intégration du marché européen de l'électricité et du gaz est indispensable pour mieux compenser les pénuries régionales », affirment-ils dans un document rédigé pour le réseau de recherche EconPol Europe.

ifo researcher Karen Pittel sees unconventional fracking as offering limited potential for Germany’s security of supply. “According to economic estimates, fracking could cover around 6 to 12 percent of Germany’s gas consumption,” says Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources. But first, Germany would have to lift its ban on fracking and invest in the industry this would create.

Many German companies in the manufacturing sector have been cutting back on natural gas with only minor restrictions on production. However, this will become more difficult in the future, as a survey by the ifo Institute shows. A total of 59 percent of the companies surveyed use natural gas in their production processes. Of these, 75 percent have saved on gas in the past six months without curtailing production. “This large proportion is encouraging, but the differences between industries are significant,” says Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources. “Moreover, the potential for further savings without a drop in production seems to be running out.”

The German government should make use of high gas prices to get consumers to use less of this raw material. This is the recommendation of the ifo Institute. “Energy consumption won’t fall far enough unless higher prices are passed on to consumers. What’s needed is a raft of targeted support measures to ensure that nobody is burdened beyond their means,” writes ifo researcher Karen Pittel in an article for ifo Schnelldienst.

According to the ifo Institute, Europe is in a quandary over whether to halt oil imports from Russia. “On the one hand, waiting with a decision would give the EU more time to better prepare by organizing alternative energy sources, reducing demand, and also optimizing the logistics of energy flows within the EU and across countries,” says ifo researcher Karen Pittel. “On the other hand, an oil embargo should not be postponed forever either, as more time would allow Russia to find other buyers while continuing to earn revenue from the EU.” A postponement would also reduce incentives in EU countries to prepare for a cutoff of Russian energy supplies. 

ifo researcher Karen Pittel describes a potential embargo on Russian hard coal as “unpleasant in the short term, but bearable” for the German economy. 

In the short term, a halt to Russian energy imports could cost Germany up to 3 percent of its gross domestic product. This is the result of estimates by the EconPol Europe network calculated with a simulation model. Oil and coal could be replaced by imports from other countries, but it is harder to find replacements for gas, the authors write.

In the ifo Economists Panel, a joint undertaking with FAZ, German economists have stated they want to see more climate action on the part of the EU. According to the latest survey, 41 percent of respondents believe that the EU should do more to protect the climate. Meanwhile, 27 percent consider EU policy to be appropriate, while only 20 percent claim that the bloc should do less. The survey involved 171 university professors.

The German government should make further improvements to the German Climate Change Act in the coming legislative period. This is what Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources, writes in an article for ifo Schnelldienst. “Tomorrow, the EU publishes its Fit for 55 package. As a consequence, it might become necessary to revise the Climate Change Act,” Pittel says. It was only recently, in June 2021, that policymakers amended the Act following the ruling of Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court.

The ifo Institute has criticized Germany’s new climate protection law. “Unfortunately, in its current form the draft law represents a missed opportunity for a more comprehensive reform of climate legislation,” writes Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources, in an article for ifo Schnelldienst.

Europe should continue to pursue its climate targets, even during the coronavirus crisis, write ifo researcher Karen Pittel and Andreas Loeschel from the University of Muenster. “Current investments are making emissions an unavoidable part of many sectors for decades to come,” they write in their article published in the new ifo Schnelldienst. Prof. Pittel is Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources; Prof. Loeschel is teaching at the University of Muenster.

The ifo President Clemens Fuest and ifo climate expert Karen Pittel have praised the German coalition government’s economic stimulus package. Fuest said on Thursday: “The stimulus package is broad-based and for the most part well thought out. It combines incentives to stimulate consumption in the short term with impetus for public and private investment and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Pittel said: “It is to be welcomed that the package explicitly takes climate-friendly future technologies and infrastructure into account.”

Das ifo Institut hat das Bürgergeld Wind grundsätzlich gelobt. „Ein Ausgleich für Bürger, die direkt von Windanlagen betroffen sind, ist volkswirtschaftlich sinnvoll“, sagt Karen Pittel, Leiterin des ifo Zentrums für Energie, Klima und Ressourcen. „Entschädigungszahlungen sollten allerdings auf die Anwohner beschränkt bleiben, die tatsächlich von Schattenwurf oder Geräusch-Entwicklung betroffen sind. Bei entsprechender Ausgestaltung könnten solche Zahlungen pauschalen Abstandsregelungen weit überlegen sein.“  

Die ifo-Forscherin Karen Pittel ist die neue Ko-Vorsitzende des Wissenschaftlichen Beirates der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU). Sie löst damit Dirk Messner ab, der zum 1. Januar 2020 Präsident des Umweltbundesamtes wird und damit aus dem WBGU ausscheidet. Karen Pittel teilt sich den WBGU-Vorsitz mit der bisherigen Ko-Vorsitzenden Sabine Schlacke. 

The ifo Institute takes a cautiously positive view of the compromise reached on Germany’s climate package. “Raising the initial price for CO₂ is an important step in the right direction,” says Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources. “The higher CO₂ price shows a willingness to make it the guiding signal for climate policy in the long term.”

L'Institut ifo émet un avis prudemment favorable sur le compromis trouvé en Allemagne en matière de lutte contre le changement climatique. « L'augmentation du prix d'entrée des émissions de CO2 constitue un pas important dans la bonne direction », a déclaré Karen Pittel, directrice du Centre ifo de l'énergie, du climat et des ressources. « Le relèvement de ce prix montre la volonté d'en faire durablement une référence majeure de la politique climatique. »

While the ifo Institute regards it as an important signal that the draft of a climate protection law has been passed by the German cabinet, at the same time ifo wishes to draw attention to a number of significant shortcomings. “Abandoning mandatory, long-term climate goals for 2050 is extremely problematic,” explains Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources.

Germany’s “climate cabinet” presented a climate package in Berlin today, in which the ifo Institute sees a mix of pros and cons. Pricing CO₂ via certificates is the right way to go. However, setting firm CO₂ prices until 2025 is incompatible with a functioning certificate system; in any case, the prices are too low. Moreover, the package is bogged down in individual supplementary measures of uncertain impact.

The ifo researcher Karen Pittel praised the special report of the German Council of Economic Experts (SVR) on climate policy. "It is good that the SVR is urging the introduction of an internationally coordinated CO2 price. It is equally important to note that in an emergency it is better for national governments to go it alone than to do nothing," said the head of the ifo Centre for Energy, Climate and Resources in Munich on Friday.

4/11/2019

The ifo researcher Karen Pittel has described the German Transport Commission's draft report as a "disappointing but little surprising minimal compromise". The result could unfortunately have been expected given the different interests of the members. In any case, such a commission lacks the mandate to make the necessary fundamental decisions that make substantial contributions to achieving Germany's climate targets.

L'Institut ifo a critiqué la Commission du charbon en Allemagne. "Selon les calculs de l'Institut ifo, la sortie du charbon est au moins partiellement compensée par des importations d'énergie nucléaire et d'énergie au charbon en provenance de Pologne et de République tchèque ", explique Karen Pittel, chercheuse à l'ifo. "La compensation versée aux exploitants de centrales électriques et la réduction prévue des prix de l'électricité augmenteront également les coûts de l'élimination progressive du charbon. L'occasion n'a pas été saisie de combiner l'élimination progressive du charbon avec une réforme fondamentale de la politique énergétique et climatique. Un plan à long terme pour la réalisation des objectifs climatiques allemands et internationaux fait toujours défaut", a ajouté M. Pittel, directeur du Centre de l'énergie, du climat et des ressources de l'ifo. La fermeture des centrales au charbon selon un calendrier précis entraînerait des coûts supplémentaires pour la transformation du système énergétique qui, selon les estimations actuelles, nécessiterait en tout état de cause plus de 1000 milliards d'euros d'investissements supplémentaires d'ici 2050.

The ifo Institute has criticised the Coal Commission in Germany. "According to calculations by the ifo Institute, the exit from coal is at least partially offset by imports of nuclear and coal-fired power from Poland and the Czech Republic," says ifo researcher Karen Pittel. "The compensation for power plant operators and the planned reduction in electricity prices will also increase the costs of phasing out coal. The opportunity was missed to combine the phase-out of coal with a fundamental reform of energy and climate policy. There is still no long-term plan for implementing the German and international climate targets," added Pittel, head of the ifo Centre for Energy, Climate and Resources. The shutdown of coal-fired power plants according to a timetable would cause additional costs for the energy system transformation, which, according to current estimates, would require well over 1,000 billion euros in additional investments by 2050 anyway.

The ifo Institute favours the slow phase-out of lignite. "In terms of energy policy, there is much to be said for a gradual phase-out," notes ifo expert Joachim Ragnitz. He believes that a rapid phase-out could pose significant supply risks, as there are still no alternatives to secure the base load. In his view, importing coal or nuclear power from neighbouring countries is not a viable solution. According to Ragnitz, "It would be short-sighted in terms of climate policy to shut down modern lignite-fired power plants in eastern Germany, and operate outdated plants in Poland or the Czech Republic instead in order to secure Germany’s energy supply.”

Karen Pittel mahnt, aus der Energiekrise unsere Lehren zu ziehen, um besser für zukünftige Krisen aller Art gerüstet zu sein. Eine auf EU-Ebene angesiedelte Institution, die weltweite Trends beobachtet, Risiken identifiziert und neue Krisen antizipiert, könnte für die künftige Krisenprävention sehr hilfreich sein.

Karen Pittel mahnt, aus der Energiekrise unsere Lehren zu ziehen, um besser für zukünftige Krisen aller Art gerüstet zu sein. Eine auf EU-Ebene angesiedelte Institution, die weltweite Trends beobachtet, Risiken identifiziert und neue Krisen antizipiert, könnte für die künftige Krisenprävention sehr hilfreich sein.

Strategien wie Planetary Health und One Health haben ein großes Potenzial, zur Bewältigung der Gesundheitskrise beizutragen. Allerdings gilt es, dies auch zu nutzen – und hier besteht nach wie vor großer Handlungsbedarf. Ein Beitrag von Karen Pittel.

Christian Bayer, Lion Hirth, Matthias Kalkuhl und Karen Pittel, Mitglieder der von der Bundesregierung ernannten Gaskommission, erläutern, worauf es bei der Umsetzung ihrer Vorschläge zur Gaspreisbremse ankommt.

Ottmar Edenhofer, Veronika Grimm, Andreas Löschel, Karen Pittel und Christoph Schmidt stellen einen 6-Punkte-Plan vor, mit dem die neue Bundesregierung den Anforderungen an die ambitionierte Klimapolitik gerecht werden könnte.

Vier führende Umweltökonomen kritisieren das Konjunkturprogramm.

Karen Pittel und Hans-Martin Henning, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung