Drivers of Energy Transition: How Interest Groups Influenced Energy Politics in Germany

662 Pages·2017·12.158 MB·English

by  Wolfgang Gründinger (auth.)

Energiepolitik und Klimaschutz
Energy Policy and Climate Protection
Wolfgang Gründinger
Drivers of Energy
Transition
How Interest Groups Influenced
Energy Politics in Germany
Energiepolitik und Klimaschutz
Energy Policy and Climate Protection
Herausgegeben von
L. Mez, Berlin, Deutschland
A. Brunnengräber, Berlin, Deutschland
Weltweite Verteilungskämpfe um knappe Energieressourcen und der Klimawan-
del mit seinen Auswirkungen führen zu globalen, nationalen, regionalen und auch
lokalen Herausforderungen, die Gegenstand dieser Publikationsreihe sind. Die
Beiträge der Reihe sollen Chancen und Hemmnisse einer präventiv orientierten
Energie- und Klimapolitik vor dem Hintergrund komplexer energiepolitischer und
wirtschaftlicher Interessenlagen und Machtverhältnisse ausloten. Themenschwer-
punkte sind die Analyse der europäischen und internationalen Liberalisierung der
Energiesektoren und -branchen, die internationale Politik zum Schutz des Klimas,
Anpassungsmaßnahmen an den Klimawandel in den Entwicklungs-, Schwellen-
und Industrieländern, die Produktion von biogenen Treibstoffen zur Substitution
fossiler Energieträger oder die Probleme der Atomenergie und deren nuklearen
Hinterlassenschaften.
Die Reihe bietet empirisch angeleiteten, quantitativen und international verglei-
chenden Arbeiten, Untersuchungen von grenzüberschreitenden Transformations-
und Mehrebenenprozessen oder von nationalen „best practice“-Beispielen ebenso
ein Forum wie theoriegeleiteten, qualitativen Untersuchungen, die sich mit den
grundlegenden Fragen des gesellschaftlichen Wandels in der Energiepolitik und
beim Klimaschutz beschäftigen.
Herausgegeben von
PD Dr. Lutz Mez PD Dr. Achim Brunnengräber
Freie Universität Berlin Freie Universität Berlin
Wolfgang Gründinger
Drivers of Energy
Transition
How Interest Groups Influenced
Energy Politics in Germany
Wolfgang Gründinger
Berlin, Deutschland
Dissertation Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 2016, u.d.T. Wolfgang Gründinger, What
drives the Energiewende? New German Politics and the Influence of Interest Groups
Energiepolitik und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection
ISBN 978-3-658-17690-7 ISBN 978-3-658-17691-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-17691-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936191
Springer VS
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer VS imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH
The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany
Table of Contents 5
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 5 
Abstract................................................................................................................. 9 
1.Introduction: What Drives the Energiewende? ......................................... 11
2.The Energy Transformation in Germany ................................................... 41
2.1 What is the Energiewende? ..................................................................... 41 
2.2 Milestones in German Energy and Climate Politics ............................... 43 
2.3 Characteristics of the Energy Market ...................................................... 49 
3.Theoretical Framework and Methods ........................................................ 53
3.1 Interest Groups, Lobbying and Advocacy Coalitions ............................. 53 
3.2 Types and Modes of Policy Change ........................................................ 56 
3.3 Resources of Interest Groups .................................................................. 58 
3.4 Trust: The Forgotten Power Resource .................................................... 64 
3.5 Veto Points and Veto Players .................................................................. 69 
3.6 Electoral Pressure .................................................................................... 72 
3.7 How to Lobby: Strategies, Channels and Instruments of Lobbying ........ 75 
3.8 The European Union: National Politics as Multi-Level Game................ 82 
3.9 Path Dependence and Focusing Events ................................................... 84 
3.10 Methodological Approach: Qualitative Multi-Case Study .................... 87 
4. Actors and Institutions ................................................................................ 95
4.1 The Political System in Germany ........................................................... 95
6 Table of Contents

4.2 The Multi-Party System in Transition ................................................... 106 
4.3 Interest Groups ..................................................................................... 114 
4.4 Public Opinion and Media Reporting.................................................... 134 

5. The Nuclear Phase-Out .............................................................................. 141 
5.1 The Rise and Fall of Nuclear Power in Germany ................................. 141 
5.2 Constellation of Actors ......................................................................... 144 
5.3 The “Nuclear Consensus” (2000/2002) ................................................. 146 
5.4 Policy Gridlock under the Grand Coalition (2005-2009) ...................... 163 
5.5 Lifetime Extension (2010): “Exit from the Exit”? ................................ 171 
5.6 Post-Fukushima Nuclear Phase-Out (2011) .......................................... 199 
5.7 Summary ............................................................................................... 249 

6. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) ............................................. 257 
6.1 The EEG – Story of an Unlikely Revolution ....................................... 257 
6.2 Constellation of Actors ......................................................................... 260 
6.3 Historical Background: The Electricity Feed-in Act (1991) ................. 264 
6.4 The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2000) ................................. 269 
6.5 First EEG Revision (2004) and Provisional Acts (2003) ...................... 282 
6.6 Second EEG Revision under the Grand Coalition (2009) ..................... 304 
6.7 PV Act (2010) under the CDU/CSU/FDP Government ........................ 329 
6.8 Third Grand EEG Revision (2012) and Preceeding PV Act (2011) ...... 342 
6.9 PV Act (2012): “Solar Phase-Out” ....................................................... 361 
6.10 Summary ............................................................................................. 381 

7. The Carbon Aapture and Storage (CCS) Act .......................................... 421 
7.1 “Clean Coal” – a Chance for Climate Protection? ................................ 421 
7.2 Constellation of Actors ......................................................................... 424
Table of Contents 7
7.3 First Failure of the CCS Act (2009) ...................................................... 431 
7.4 Second Failure of the CCS Act (2011) .................................................. 448 
7.5 “Non-CCS Act” (2012) ......................................................................... 455 
7.6 Summary ............................................................................................... 457 
8.The European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) ............................. 465
8.1 Emissions Trading: Europe’s Flagship for Climate Protection ............. 465 
8.2 The Design of the Emissions Trading System ...................................... 470
8.3 Constellation of Actors ......................................................................... 476
8.4 Initiation Phase (2005-2007): Teething Troubles ................................. 481 
8.5 Kyoto Phase (2008-2012): Lessons Learned? ....................................... 508 
8.6 Post-Kyoto Phase III (2013-2020): European Harmonization .............. 533 
8.7 Summary ............................................................................................... 545 
9.Conclusions and Outlook ........................................................................... 565
10.Appendix ................................................................................................... 573
10.1 Glossary .............................................................................................. 573 
10.2 Abbreviations ...................................................................................... 583 
10.3 Overview of Interviewees ................................................................... 585 
10.4 List of Tables, Boxes and Figures ....................................................... 590 
10.5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................. 593 
References ....................................................................................................... 595
Abstract 9

Abstract

Literature on interest groups typically suggests that economic interest groups
with large economic threat potential (conflict capacity) and high organizational
capacity are structurally more powerful than “weak” interests, such as environ-
mental and climate protection. In particular, a high number of veto points or veto
players should make profound change unlikely, all the more if the change runs
both against a deeply entrenched path dependence and against the interests of
powerful interest groups.
However, evidence from modern German energy politics since 1998 tells a
contrary story: Large energy corporations, equipped with enormous economic
resources and strong political ties, could not hinder politicians to implement
comprehensive change in energy and climate policies – and shut down nuclear
power plants, promote renewables, impede coal-fired power generation and in-
troduce emissions trading, all against the will of strong interest groups, despite
the high veto density in the institutional setting, and notwithstanding fossil-
nuclear path dependence.
In the most extensive political science study carried out thus far, this disser-
tation explores how interest groups intermediation, veto opportunities and elec-
toral pressure inform policy output across four energy policy fields over 15
years. The findings provide evidence that logics of political competition in new
German politics have fundamentally changed over the last two decades, with
respect to five distinct mechanisms:

(1) The age of “fossil-nuclear” corporatism is over, superimposed by more plu-
ralist patterns of interest intermediation, which opened the floor for compet-
ing actors beyond incumbent power companies.
(2) With the new multitude of actors and intense public debate on energy poli-
cy issues, trust has become key for the assertion of interests, whereas eco-
nomic power has turned less relevant.
(3) Initial small legislative steps have set new “green” path dependence into
motion, which has engendered self-reinforcing lock-in effects and super-
seded the previous “fossil-nuclear” path dependence.
10 Abstract

(4) Faced with increased difficulties in coalition-building, mainstream parties
adjusted their programmatic profile to steal voters from the popular Green
party and access the Greens as potential coalition partner – leading to a
“greening” of both major center parties.
(5) The crucial divide runs between the environmental wing and the economic
wing within parties, rather than between parties. Environmental politicians
of different parties have larger ideological consensus than with economic
politicians of their own party.

Keywords: energy politics, climate politics, climate protection, nuclear power,
nuclear phase-out, renewable energies, feed-in tariffs, clean coal, carbon capture
and storage (CCS), emissions trading, policy change, lobbying, interest groups,
veto points, veto players, Germany, energy transformation, energy transition.