The Future of German Energy Policy Outlined

Putting their differences behind them, Germany's ruling coalition partners, the Social Democrats and the Greens, presented a united front on Wednesday in matters related to energy policy. With the release of the Agenda 2010 for Energy Policy position paper, previous debates within the coalition about whether to rely on renewable energy or traditional fossil fuels have been set aside, said Michael Müller, the SPD deputy parliamentary floor leader. "The conflict 'coal or wind energy' is counterproductive," he said. The paper stresses the importance of "sustainability" and "innovation" in a nod to the Green's proposal to fill the gap left in the German energy market when the country's atomic plants are retired with renewable energy. Economic Minister Wolfgang Clement (SPD) and Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin (Green) have had many public battles over the last few months aboutr the future direction of German energy policy.