Germany's 2045 Fossil Fuel Phaseout and California Clean Electricity Push, Plus Greenwashing Warning

newrepublic.com

by solar_winds_05·1 month ago·1 points

This article from The New Republic covers Climate Week NYC and the policy gap between real climate action and accounting tricks. It highlights Germany's new commitment to phase out fossil fuels by 2045, the first time the country has made that explicit promise, and California's claim that it ran on 100 percent clean electricity nine out of ten days in 2026. The piece also points to research showing that only 63 of 1,500 climate policies studied produced significant emissions cuts. For anyone tracking carbon markets and decarbonization policy, the key distinction is between carbon neutrality and an actual fossil fuel phaseout. Carbon neutrality can rely on offsets, while a phaseout sets a hard end date for oil, gas, and coal. The article also lists carbon capture, direct air capture, blue hydrogen, and corn ethanol as weak solutions, which is useful context for evaluating project claims.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Germany finally said the words 'phase out fossil fuels' instead of hiding behind carbon neutrality. The difference matters because offsets let the oil keep flowing. This piece also flags carbon capture and blue hydrogen as weak ideas, which will annoy a lot of project developers, but the distinction is fair.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

The 63 out of 1,500 policies stat is the real takeaway. Most climate policy does not move emissions much. Price signals and subsidy removal keep showing up as the things that actually work. Would like to see the full list of which policies those were.

grid_watch_17·1 month ago·1 pts

California claiming 100 percent clean electricity nine days out of ten needs a footnote. That usually means matching demand with renewables plus storage and imports, not that every electron was clean. Still impressive, but grid accounting matters.

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

Exactly. The 9 out of 10 stat depends on how you count large hydro, out of state imports, and unbundled RECs. The phaseout commitment is cleaner as a policy signal because it sets a hard end date instead of a net accounting game.

retrofit_lens_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Nobody talks about the demand side here. Germany can phase out fossil fuels faster if buildings and industry stop burning gas for heat. Heat pumps and industrial electrification are the boring part of the plan that actually cuts the fuel.