INTERNATIONAL
VANDERBILT POLITICAL REVIEW
Autobahn to the future
Germany leads the way in eco-friendly policy
I
n the United States, the thought of a
22% government-mandated levy to fund
renewable-energy sources would likely
cause uproar among conservatives and corporate America. Yet in Germany, citizens
and companies alike have accepted that very
policy as part of their ever-changing energy
landscape. Motivated by highly fluctuating—and at times exorbitantly expensive—
energy costs, the German government has
established a bold long-term plan to cut its
energy costs: meet 80% of the country’s
energy demands through renewable energy
sources by 2050. To do so, the German
government has instituted a surcharge of
22% on all power bills for businesses and
individuals, while also offering subsidies
for those who produce renewable energy.
Rather than combat this initiative, German
companies have begun turning to renewable
energy sources in droves—with significant
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by HARRISON EBELING ‘16
help from the government in the form of tax
breaks and subsidies. That German companies have increasingly chosen to go off the
grid and generate their own electricity indicates the potential success of such a radical endeavor. Though undoubtedly causing
some setbacks economically, the U.S. should
take note that such a drastic policy can incentivize the private sector to adopt alternative
energy solutions quickly and on a large scale.
This is not to say that the same policy
would succeed in the United States at this
moment. Clearly, the U.S. has a significantly
different energy economy than Germany
and its European neighbors. According to
the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. has been radically reducing its
dependence on foreign energy since 2005,
and energy costs remains relatively inexpensive compared to Europe. However, the
ramifications and potential of the German
program remain enormous. At this point,
it is important to emphasize that Germany
has a robust economy; in fact, it is the largest in the EU. If Germany can successfully
implement such a policy, then it stands to
reason that other major economic powers,
like the U.S., could eventually adopt their
own versions of the plan. The United States
has made some small steps: the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007, and Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, for example. But nothing in the States has come close
to the energy overhaul that is Germany’s
fifty year energy independence plan. And
Germany has it right: renewable energy is
the future. Though it may seem far away, developing the infrastructure to accommodate
such a change takes years of planning to account for the costs in cash and infrastructure.
As the United States continues to de-