Prof. Helm in an interview with SZ, pointing out that the energy transition should demonstrate that an industrial country can also rebuild its economy in a climate-friendly way:
“Yes, but look at what has happened. If a historian writes this down in 50 years, he would say: Germany has switched from nuclear power to coal in the energy transition. And through subsidies for wind and solar energy, it has lowered the prices for CO2 certificates, which one has to buy for the emission of greenhouse gases. This makes investments in coal-fired power plants really worthwhile. No wonder emissions are rising again. Germany is a negative example of how not to conduct climate policy. What really matters for climate change is actually coal.”
– The British energy economist Prof. Dieter Helm in “Cheap Oil”, interview in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of July 4, 2017, No. 151
