During the debate over the amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), Green Party leader Felix Banaszak accused the Union of jeopardizing jobs, particularly in rural areas. He told the “Rheinische Post” that generating kilowatt-hours of electricity from solar and wind makes the country more independent from expensive energy imports coming from volatile global regions.
Banaszak criticized the Union for instead of promoting solar and wind energy “to the fullest,” developing “entire bundles of paperwork” involving new bureaucracy. “No other industry in this country would be treated this way by the CDU and CSU,” the Green politician asserted. “Forty-three thousand jobs are at stake, especially in rural regions, because the Union harbors an aversion to renewables.” He stressed that investment and value creation must occur, especially in rural areas, which is why predictability in the EEG is crucial.
Meanwhile, numerous banks had warned Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche (CDU), in an open letter about her “new bureaucratic behemoth.” Banaszak challenged her, insisting that she needed to find a solution: “Where is the principle of simply getting it done when it comes to digitalization of our networks, reducing bureaucracy, and speeding up network operators?”
Focusing on the wide-ranging proposed changes to the draft EEG amendment from the Union faction, Michael Kellner, Green Party’s energy policy spokesperson to the Bundestag, added to the criticism, stating that “the Union is hunting down renewables. This endangers jobs and our secure energy supply.”
