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Energy policy as a national responsibility

Trade Unions also believe that energy policy is of high economic and political significance. Germany’s future as an industrial base and not least the urgently needed successes in the employment sector are dependent on whether or not the country can establish an energy policy that in the long term is capable of ensuring a reliable, efficient and low-cost supply.

The much-heralded globalisation and deregulation of the international and European markets cannot essentially alter the fact that the provision of energy will primarily remain a national responsibility. Political events in eastern Europe, the economic crises affecting Asia and South America and even the breakneck pace of change in oil and gas prices have again demonstrated that there is no real stability or continuity in the world – whether in economics or in politics, and certainly not in the energy markets. Energy, in whatever form, is an economic and strategic product of enormous importance and for this reason it will continue to be much more crisis-prone than any other commodity.

Energy consensus as a basis

The IG BCE believes that any workable and sustainable energy policy depends on having a consensus on the main pillars, in other words there must be a minimum level of agreement between producers and consumers and between the relevant business and political groups and that this must be achieved without causing confusion, disorientation or the risk of embargo. Yet this consensus must not merely be limited to measures such as the agreed regulation on the life-span of nuclear power stations, but must be extended to include all essential aspects of our national energy policy. Any truly viable consensus will therefore involve an appropriate degree of reality awareness along with serious attempts to balance the different objectives and interests of those concerned. The IG BCE will continue to press for a comprehensive energy consensus. It expects a sustainable energy policy to safeguard and develop the tried and tested principles of the energy mix. The underlying rationale must be to permit a happy coexistence of the different fuels and methods of generation. This is an essential economic requirement, given the enormous investment involved and the resulting need for continuity and reliability.

Energy mix is a tried and tested principle

The practised energy mix of coal, oil, gas and nuclear power has proved to be effective in many respects and has to the present day created the foundations on which the successful German economic model has been laid. And in view of anticipated global developments this mix offers the best basic approach for forearming ourselves against impending threats. Here our two indigenous fuels, namely coal and lignite, must be retained as important security factors and must continue to meet a large proportion of our power generation requirements.

A responsible attitude to nuclear energy

The IG BCE maintains the view that, irrespective of any understanding reached between the Federal Government and the energy supply utilities as to the phasing-out of nuclear power, it must be left to future generations to decide whether other, more-reliable forms of nuclear power technology should be deployed. In order to safeguard this essential energy-policy option our research and development activities should not be suspended or prevented. Dealing responsibly with nuclear energy also means continuing to develop a viable waste disposal plan at national level. This includes interim storage as well as the speedy development of a permanent repository solution. Germany can now be acclaimed as a global leader in this field. The temporary moratorium on the Gorleben waste facility must not lead to inactivity or to an abandonment of the project altogether. The IG BCE considers it essential that the energy consensus should help safeguard jobs in the energy sector. It would be fatal if the phasing-out of nuclear energy were to be achieved on the backs of the workforce. Restructuring therefore has to be accomplished in a socially acceptable manner and jobs lost must be replaced by new opportunities elsewhere. This applies especially to nuclear waste disposal, where it is not just a matter of cushioning the blow on a social level but also of retaining the existing technical and scientific know-how.

Keeping the indigenous coal industry

The IG BCE believes that the use of solid fuel in Germany, and this means both coal and lignite, will in future remain an essential part of a viable energy supply system. And this is by no means just a matter of preserving jobs. For this reason the IG BCE categorically opposes any attempt to prevent lignite mining in both the eastern and western parts of Germany. The German lignite industry is competitive and is setting international standards in respect of productivity, product refining, environmental protection and site restoration. The German coal industry is going through a major restructuring process that is having a massive impact on everyone involved. A degree of legal security has now again been provided with the European Commission giving its approval to coal-industry aid for 2000 and 2001. Of decisive importance here is that the Bonn “coal compromise” of 1997 has been left unaffected. The total aid provided remains unchanged. There will be no additional pit closures until 2005. The Federal Government and NRW are to adhere to their funding commitments and will therefore abide by the 1997 coal compromise. New aid arrangements must now be agreed before the ECSC Treaty expires in the summer of 2002. By means of his proposal, which is supported by Federal Economics Minister Müller, Minister President Clement has put forward a solution that will allow EU member states to provide aid to a maximum amount of 10% of their primary energy consumption without the need for Commission approval. The EU Green Paper on security of supply has not yet given the go-ahead for such a measure and, consequently, a follow-up regulation for the post-2006 era – which can stand in its own right and at the same time provide a pillar of support for the Clement model – still has to be negotiated as a parallel arrangement.

Protecting and creating jobs

The energy debate focuses on a triangle of objectives: security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability. In the opinion of the IG BCE this needs to be extended, in that the energy sector itself provides employment for hundreds of thousands of people and constitutes a basis on which the whole of industry operates. A huge number of industries and jobs depend on it. Energy policy decisions must still therefore be assessed in the light of their social and structural repercussions. And employment must in this extended sense be included as a fourth element in the energy-policy decision making process. As far as the IG BCE is concerned it is crucial that we both protect and create jobs; the Union’s verdict on the deregulation of the electricity and gas markets, and on the restructuring of this sector, will be determined quite specifically on whether Germany remains as an energy production centre and is therefore capable of safeguarding jobs and prosperity.

Energy policy and sustainability

The environmental compatibility of energy generation and consumption processes must be further increased by careful resource management, rational energy use and effective energy saving programmes. Through the accelerated development of renewable energies we should preserve our opportunities – though in the very long term – for restructuring our energy generation system. The IG BCE expressly welcomes the fact that sustainability and environmental compatibility have now been accepted as part of the fundamental criteria of energy policy. Yet Germany will continue to be reliant on the existing energy mix for some time to come. For this reason it cannot be right for energy policy to be almost exclusively concerned with the generation of what are referred to as “alternative energies”, while the conventional fuels – which continue to form the mainstay of Germany’s energy supply – are regarded as incidental and outmoded, or in some cases are subjected to massive constraints.

Source: IG BCE (Industrial Union for Mining, Chemicals and Energy), October 2002