Effects of energy transition and the structural change on the extraction of natural resources in Germany
Climate change sets tremendous challenges for actors globally in the fields of politics, industry and civil society. In view of international and national plans to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that are harmful to the climate, the extractive sector must make an important contribution to achieving the target of climate neu- trality. The energy transition will have a considerable influence on the demand for and sale of coal, oil and gas and will start or accelerate a structural change in these industries. Parallel to this, natural resources for climate-neutral technologies, renewable energy, electrical mobility and hydrogen are seeing increasing demand.
The Federal Republic of Germany is bound by various international benchmarks to cope with climate change. In the Paris Agreement of 2015 the world community came to a legally binding agreement for the first time to limit global warming as far as possible to 1.5° Celsius compared to temperatures in pre- industrial times. The European Union has also set specific targets with the European Green Deal (“European Climate Law”). The element at the core of all agreements is a massive reduction in green- house gases.
This chapter takes a closer look at some of the laws that apply in Germany for improving climate protection, the status of renewable energies and the rise in demand for metal and mineral natural resources. Activities and measures are also described that have been under- taken in Germany to tackle the challenges of the energy transition and structural change in relation to the extraction of natural resources.
Legal base
German Federal Climate Protection Act
The German Federal Climate Protection Act, a new law introduced in 2019, sets the legal framework for climate policy in Germany. It sets out German climate targets in law and includes a mechanism for monitoring and adjustment to meet the climate protection targets.
On 24 June 2021 the German Bundestag passed new and ambitious climate protection targets with the amendment to the German Federal Climate Protection Act (in force since 31 August 2021) with the aim of achieving net greenhouse gas neutrality in Germany by 2045. As interim targets, greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to be reduced by at least 65% by 2030 based on 1990 levels and by a minimum of 88% by 2040. In addition, it is intended that the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector will gradually become a reliable carbon sink for 25 million tonnes a year by 2030 and 35 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents by 2045. On the way to 2030 the German Federal Climate Protection Act specifies permissible annual emission levels for the energy, industry, building, transport, agriculture and waste management sectors. In the course of the amendment, the trajectory for reducing emissions in these sectors has been made more stringent. The energy and industry sectors are being required to shoulder most of the additional reductions.
The German Federal Climate Protection Act provides for a checking and adjustment mechanism for com- plying with the permissible annual emission levels. On 15 March each year, the German Environment Agency publishes the emissions data on the previous year’s greenhouse gas emissions. These are checked by the expert council for climate issues. If a sector exceeds the annual emission level, the department largely responsible for the relevant sector must submit an emergency programme to balance out the emission level that has been exceeded and ensure that the emission levels in the subsequent years will be com- plied with. The Federal Government then decides on the measures to be taken in the relevant sector or in other sectors concerned or on cross-sector measures.
The building sector exceeded the annual emission level permitted in the Federal Climate Protection Act by 2 million tonnes CO equivalents in 2020. In 2 accordance with the requirements of the Federal Climate Protection Act, in July 2021 the departments responsible for the building sector, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (building) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (energy), sub- mitted a “2020 emergency programme in the building sector”. Based on this, on 22 September 2021 the Federal Cabinet decided on additional measures for the building sector, the aim of which was to help to close the gap in targets that arose in 2020.
The respective annual emission levels for 2020 in all other sectors fell below the threshold.
To reach the climate targets, in autumn 2019 the 2030 climate protection programme and other measures relating to greenhouse gases were adopted as part of the Federal Government’s economic stimulus package of 3 June 2020. In order to achieve the more stringent climate targets specified in the amended Federal German Climate Protection Act, the Cabinet passed the 2022 climate protection emergency programme in addition on 23 June 2021, which contained EUR8 billion for concrete measures.
National Allowance Trading for Fuel Emissions
Europe-wide CO2 pricing has already existed for the energy sector, energy-intensive industries and internal European air transport since 2005 with the European emissions trading system. The areas of heating and transport have not been covered to date. This changed on 1 January 2021 with the introduction of national fuel emissions trading in accordance with the Fuel Emission Trading Act (BEHG). BEHG requires companies that distribute fuels (heating and fuels) to acquire emissions allowances and to submit these by 30 September of the following year. The costs are passed on in the usual way along the supply chain. The CO2 price has the effect of steering the choices of end users, as the rising prices make climate-friendly alternatives increasingly attractive.
The legislator has planned a fixed-price system for the introductory phase. The aim is that citizens and business can gradually adjust to the CO2 price when provided with a rising but reliable price trajectory. Parallel to this, a trading platform is being established which allows certificates to be auctioned and trading. Whereas one emissions certificate cost EUR25 in 2021, companies will have to pay EUR55 per certificate as early as 2025. From 2026 it is intended that the certificate price will always be formed by the market, although a price corridor of EUR55 to EUR65 per emissions certificate is planned for 2026.
The intention is as far as possible to balance out situ- ations where national fuel emissions trading results in competitive disadvantages for German companies (called carbon leakage). The BECV (ordinance on measures to avoid carbon leakage through national fuel emissions trading) adopted by the Federal Government provides relief for companies affected and entitled to state aid in the form of financial compensation but in exchange it requires them to invest in climate change mitigation measures.
In addition, part of the receipts from national emissions trading is used to lower the EEG levy. This results in a lower electricity price for both citizens and industry. In 2024, it is intended that some of the receipts will be used to increase the long-distance commuter allowance. The aim is to design fuel emissions trading to include social responsibility as a result of this and further measures such as increasing housing benefit.
German Coal Phase-Out Act
Electricity generation using hard coal will be reduced between 2020 and 2026, initially in stages through competitive tendering for hard coal plants involved in the electricity market. In the tender procedure the plant operators state a bid price at which they are willing to cease using coal to power their plant. By participating in the competitive process, plant opera- tors receive appropriate financial compensation for phasing out hard coal. Small lignite plants up to 150 megawatts (MW) can take part in the tender proce- dures as well. The target data in 2022 (in each case 15 Gigawatt (GW) of hard coal and lignite), 2030 (8 GW hard coal, 9 GW lignite) and 2038 (zero GW) is to be achieved through this. Through this process the pos- sible maximum price per reduced MW falls from EUR165,000/MW (2020) to EUR89,000/MW (2026). Should the reduction targets set by law for hard coal capacities not be achieved, the tender from 2024 on- wards will be backed up by regulatory frameworks. From 2027 closures of hard coal workings will be exclusively on the basis of regulatory frameworks.
The European Commission checks the appropriateness of the compensation payments to the operators of lignite power plants and their special purpose vehicles in a main examination proceeding under state aid legislation. These proceedings were opened on 7 May 2021. The purpose of the proceeding is to obtain greater legal certainty for all those involved. Examina- tion by the European Commission does not suspend in any way the implementation of the agreed trajectory for shutting down the power plants. The European Commission has jurisdiction over the proceedings.
In 2019, Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG established the special purpose vehicles named above in Brandenburg and Saxony – “Lausitz Energie Vorsorge- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Brandenburg mbH” (LEVEB) and “Lausitz Energie Vorsorge- und Entwicklungs- gesellschaft Sachsen mbH” (LEVES).
The initial tranche of EUR10 million was also paid to the Saxon company LEVES in 2019. The shares in the company were pledged to the Federal State of Saxony in January 2020.
Structural Strengthening Act
Furthermore, structurally weak locations of power plants operated with hard coal where hard coal has a great economic significance receive up to EUR1 billion of additional support.
Renewable energies
Renewable energies in Germany
Quelle: Working Group on Energy Balances April 2021 and AGEE-Stat. February 2021. For detailed source information see final note viii.
The proportion in the electricity sector is especially high. 42.0% of gross electricity consumption is cov- ered by renewable sources (242,434 GWh). The Federal Government has set itself the goal of increasing the share of electricity produced by renewable energy at 65% in 2030 and to almost completely decarbonise the energy supply by 2050 and thus to reduce green- house gas emissions. In 2019 around 82.8% of green- house gas emissions (670.2 Mt CO2 equivalents) could be attributed to the combustion of fossil energies.
Fossil-fuelled power plants are currently needed (in addition to renewable energies) to meet energy requirements in Germany. The technologies of renewable energy plants require steel, cement or petrochemical raw materials as the following example shows: The components of a wind turbine consist of roughly 45 % crude oil and petrochemical industry products. One wind turbine blade can be 30 to 50 metres long in large wind turbines and it contains up to 12 t of petrochemical products.
Some of the metals required for the energy transition (e.g. indium, germanium and gallium) are additional natural resources, i.e. they are obtained as by-products during the extraction of a different metal. In the case of these metals, the regulatory mechanisms for the supply of natural resources only function to a limited extent. In Germany and Europe, potential deposits like this do exist, with the result that import depend- encies could be reduced through the targeted devel- opment of these deposits, corresponding investments and the extraction of their natural resources.
In 2019, investments in renewable energies amounted to EUR10.7 billion, while the operation of the existing plants generated EUR17.2 billion in sales. The expan- sion of renewable energies can create a large number of new jobs due to the increasing demand for elec- tricity and heat and the goods and services produced with renewable energy. In 2019, the renewable energy sector overall produced employment for more than 299,700 people. Here the focus was on renewable energy in electricity generation. The expansion of renewable energies is financed by feed-in tariffs which are higher than the stock exchange electricity price. The difference in costs between the stock exchange electricity price and remuneration for the electricity from renewable energy plants (EEG) are paid for by electricity consumers as part of the price they pay for electricity via the EEG levy. In 2020, the EEG levy amounted to 6.756 ct/kWh for consumers who are not exempt in part or even in full from the levy, such as some major industrial consumers. Since 2021 the EEG levy is reduced by a subsidy from the Federal Government. In addition to revenue from the new national CO2 pricing for heating and motor fuels for transport and heating, a further EUR11 billion was given to the EEG levy from the economic stimulus package. As a result, a sharp increase in the EEG levy following the corona pandemic was avoided. The levy will receive increasing income from the CO2 pricing and possible remaining funds from the economic stimulus package and the intention is to reduce the levy further in the future. This will give relief to elec- tricity users and at the same time provide incentives for an energy transition across sectors. If renewable energies are to expand further, industrial energy pro- jects must be suitably combined with the development of the renewable energies. This also applies to the German natural resources industry, which has already established a series of wind, biomass, geothermal, solar and hydroelectric power projects in Germany.
Renewable energy sources are used in electricity and heat generation and in the transport sector. The most important renewable energy source in the electricity sector is wind power: In 2019, more than half (51.9%) of electricity was generated from wind energy. Wind energy plays a vital role in the expansion of renewable energies, an expansion which will ultimately result in an economically-viable and climate-friendly energy supply at reasonable prices and with a high level of general prosperity. In 2019, the use of wind energy accounted for 21.7% of German electricity consump- tion. Wind turbines have been built on various closed mine sites, mainly on now-green colliery slag heaps on which favourable wind conditions exist. In addition to the further development of suitable land sites and the replacement of older, smaller wind turbines by modern and more powerful models – so-called ‘repowering’ – the expansion of wind energy at sea is also becoming increasingly important. During the period 2017 to 2019 alone, wind energy turbines were installed with a capacity of around 8,000 MW on land and roughly 3,300 MW at sea. Wind turbines with a total capacity of around 60,721 MW were operating in Germany in 2019; they produced around 126,000 GWh of electricity in 2019, one fifth of which was generated by wind turbines at sea. The Federal Government is planning to have an offshore wind power of 20,000 MW on the grid by the year 2030 and between 67,000– 71,000 MW of wind energy on land. In view of this expansion and the ever-larger power units (more than 10 MW per offshore wind turbine), the need for min- eral natural resources will also increase. Concrete, for example, is required for the construction of wind turbine foundations. This also means a correspond- ingly higher demand for limestone for cement pro- duction and for aggregates such as gravel and sand.
Biomass has become a very relevant energy source for electricity generation. Bioenergy for producing elec- tricity is supposed to remain at the current level in view of the competition to use the land to grow food and fodder or generate energy. The total capacity of biomass electricity generation plants is around 9,988 MW, electricity generation in 2019 amounted to more than 50,200 GWh (8.8% of the total electricity consumption, 20.7% of the renewable electricity generation). In addition to biogas (including biometh- ane and landfill and sewage gas), solid and liquid bio- masses and biogenic waste are also used to generate electricity, but biogas is the most important single biogenic energy source for electricity generation with 57% (2019) of the entire biomass.
Another renewable energy source with great potential is solar electricity generation. More than 1.9 million photovoltaic plants convert the sun’s radiation energy directly into electricity – these plants represented a total of around 49,000 MW of installed capacity in Germany at the end of 2019, and around 3,800 MW of power were added in the same year. Electricity gener- ation from photovoltaics continues to rise steadily as a result, attaining approximately 46,400 GWh in 2019. Photovoltaics thus accounted for 8.0% of total electricity consumption and contributed 19.1% of renewable electricity. German mining companies are also increasingly opting for the use of photovoltaic systems at various mining sites in Germany.
In addition to wind, biomass and photovoltaics, hydropower also contributed to electricity generation with around 19,700 GWh in 2019.
In the transport sector, biomass can reduce CO2 emissions, especially in the form of biofuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas for cars, trucks, trains, ships and aircraft. Electric vehicles are another option for reducing CO2 emissions. In 2019, renewable energies accounted for 5.6% of fuel consumption in Germany.
Thanks to its flexible use in the electricity, heating and transport sectors, biomass is the most important renewable energy source. In 2019, 52% of total final energy from renewable energy sources was provided by the various types of biomass used for energy purposes.
The expansion and use of renewable energies helps to avoid greenhouse gas emissions and reduces the use of fossil energy sources. The savings also reduce the proportion of imports of mineral oil, natural gas and hard coal required. Despite the expansion of re- newable energies, conventional power plants are still needed to meet energy requirements.
Study of the demand for natural resources in the field of renewable energies
However, the study did not deal with the extent to which the future demand for base and technology metals for renewable energy plants can be met by the mining of natural resources in Germany. Information on the deposits, extraction and requirement for these natural resources in Germany can be found in the reports of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and The German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA):
BGR (2019): “Germany – Raw Materials Situation 2018” (Deutschland – Rohstoffsituation 2018)15
BGR (2017): “Domestic mineral resources – indispensa- ble for Germany!” (Heimische mineralische Rohstoffe – unverzichtbar für Deutschland!)16
Marscheider-Weidemann, F.; et al. (2021): “Natural resources for future technologies” (Rohstoffe für Zukunftstechnologien) 202117
The following sections are taken from the summary of the study. The MSG is neither responsible for the con- tent of the study nor for the contents reproduced here and does not adopt them as its own.
Classification of the renewable energies in Germany’s energy supply and presentation of the natural resources requirements for EE plants
In the case of construction raw materials, raw materials for concrete production play a significant role. In 2018, the demand for concrete used for newly in- stalled wind turbines amounted to 1.8 million tonnes. The average annual demand is expected to remain constant at around this level in the future. However, the demand for construction raw materials caused by the energy transition is rather low compared to the demand in residential and road construction (Germany had a demand for ready-mix concrete of around 115 million tonnes in 2018).
Important base metals for the energy transition are steel and aluminium as well as copper and nickel. Steel is used in many plants as a building material. The demand for steel caused by the energy transition is of secondary importance compared to the overall demand for steel in Germany. Aluminium is widely used in wind turbines and car components. The expansion of electromobility is expected to result in an additional annual demand for aluminium of around 162,000 tonnes in 2030. In addition to wind power and PV systems, copper is also used in electric mobility. Copper is likely to experience significant demand impulses as a result of the energy transition. While the copper demand for wind power and PV plants was 11,200 tonnes in 2013, the annual copper de- mand will increase by an additional 73,500 tonnes for batteries, electric motors and power electronics by 2030. The demand for nickel for electromobility is estimated to be around 1,050 tonnes in 2016. A ramp-up to around 1 million newly registered electric vehicles in 2030 would result in a nickel requirement of around 56,000 tonnes.
In connection with the energy transition, the technol- ogy metals gallium, indium, selenium and silicon are of relevance due to their use in PV modules. The same applies to cobalt and lithium due to their use in lithium- ion batteries and to neodymium and dysprosium due to their use in wind turbines and electric motors. The future annual demand for technology metals for the production of PV modules will remain more or less constant. The annual demand for cobalt and lithium is rising significantly due to increasing battery sales. The same applies to the demand for the rare earth metals neodymium and dysprosium. This is in particular due to the increase in electromobility and to a lesser share due to the construction of wind turbines. Table 1 provides an overview of the future demand for tech- nology metals for key technologies of the energy transition.
The primary extraction of some of the raw materials required, e.g. cobalt, can be associated with high human rights, social and ecological risks, especially in countries with weak governance structures. In artisanal mining, child labour and a lack of social and safety standards can go hand in hand, which can also lead to health problems for the local population. Environmental pollution from the extraction of primary raw materials is also caused, for example, by deforestation (e.g. bauxite extraction), water evaporation (e.g. lithium extraction from salt lakes) and dam fractures (risk at mining sites).
Demand for technology metals for key technologies of the energy transition according to scenario B 2030
Source: own calculations according to (OEKO 2019) and (OEKO/IZT 2019)
Socio-economic significance of renewable energies
In 1990, the Electricity Feed-in Act (Stromeinspeisungs- gesetz) introduced a subsidy mechanism to initiate the transformation of the energy system. For the first time, energy supply companies in Germany were obliged to purchase electrical energy from renewable generation processes (wind- and hydropower as well as solar energy and biomass). Today, the use of renew- able energies in Germany is largely promoted finan- cially by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG). The EEG introduced a levy on electricity consumption (with the exception of energy-intensive commercial consumers) in addition to the electricity price. The levy is used to finance the feed-in tariffs for renewable power gener- ation. The EEG levy for 2019 is 6.4 ct/kWh. The expected levy for 2019 amounts to EUR23 billion.
Employment in the lead market “environmentally friendly energy generation, transport and storage” amounted to 284,000 full person equivalents in 2018. The number of direct and induced jobs is subject to fluctuations and stood at 338,500 in 2016. Fluctuations in employment can be attributed among other things to fluctuations in the production of renewable energy plants and fluctuations in the number of plants installed in Germany.
A declared goal of the federal government is to increase the share of gross electricity consumption from renewable energy sources to 65%. Currently, the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption is approx. 38%. In order to achieve the targeted share, the installed capacity must be increased accordingly from 2018 to 2030. These expansion targets face numerous challenges in the development of renewable resources. Challenges exist with regard to the designation of suitable areas and securing social acceptance.
The report then illustrates the socio-economic signif- icance of renewable energies based on a regional analysis taking into account the different potential for use of of each energy source or technology used. The following three German regions will be presented: A North German wind region (consisting of the Federal States of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony) with a focus on wind energy, a Central German region (Hesse, Saxony- Anhalt and Thuringia) with bioenergy use, and a South-East German solar region (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Brandenburg), where solar energy plays a major role.
In 2017, 8,100 companies and 50,000 employees were active in the field of renewable energies in the wind region of Northern Germany. The gross value added in 2018 was about EUR5 billion. In the wind energy sector, around 4,000 companies and around 17,900 people were employed in 2018, which is roughly double the figure for 2010. Despite the strong growth to date, fluctuations are to be expected regarding future developments. For example, if the expansion of wind power plants stagnates, employment is expected to fall.
In 2017, 5,900 companies and around 37,000 employees were active in the renewable energy sector in the cen- tral German bioenergy region. The gross value added in 2018 was about EUR4.5 billion. In the field of bio- energy, around 2,000 companies with around 7,600 employees were active in 2018, which corresponds to a slight increase from 5,100 employees in the industry in 2010. The largest increase took place in the area of operation and maintenance.
In 2017, 16,700 companies and almost 100,000 em- ployees were active in the field of renewable energies in the South-East German solar region. The gross value added in 2018 was about EUR11 billion. In the field of solar energy, around 5,500 companies with around 20,100 employees were active in 2018, which corresponds to less than half of the 2010 active work- force in the sector. The reasons for the decline in employment and value added include the relocation of plant production abroad and a decline in the instal- lation of new plants compared with the high installation figures during the years 2010 to 2012.
The expansion of renewable energies also faces challenges. These include issues of volatility and security of supply as well as social acceptance of capacity expansion. While the majority are generally in favour of expansion, this support varies depending on the type of technology and appears to be decreas- ing depending on the degree of direct impact. Ques- tions of nature and species conservation as well as noise and odour emissions also lead to acceptance problems.’
Domestic natural resources for future technologies
The extraction of domestic natural resources plays a key role in the reliable and sustainable supply of natu- ral resources in Germany and it can reduce dependence on imports. Technologies to mitigate climate change and projects such as the energy transition, electromo- bility and digitalisation will change the need for raw materials and in particular the need for natural resources such as lithium, rare earths, cobalt, nickel and copper. This is a good reason to take a closer look at promoting domestic natural resources for future technologies in Germany. For instance, it is possible in principle to extract lithium from deposits in Germany. The European Commission has put lithium as well as tungsten, gallium, indium and cobalt among others on the list of “critical natural resources”. These include natural resources that have crucial economic impor- tance but, because only small quantities if any are extracted in the EU, largely have to be imported. The extraction of individual critical natural resource in- volves potential environmental risks in some third countries. Domestic extraction of these natural re- sources classed as “critical”<sup>19</sup> in accordance with the highest environmental and social standards can make a certain contribution to sustainable, integrated European value chains.
Projects to extract lithium in Germany
Lithium-ion batteries are very light but deliver a high performance and thus make them useful for a wide range of applications such as in smartphones, tablets and electric vehicles. To date, all the lithium required for this has been imported. However, deposits of lithium are also available in Germany, e.g. in the Ore Mountains near Zinnwald (Saxony), Falkenhain and Sadisdorf, and in the Upper Rhine Plain (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse), dissolved in thermal waters. Projects to extract lithium are currently being implemented in these areas.
The deposits of lithium in the thermal water of the Upper Rhine Plain could be extracted in an environ- mentally friendly way from deep water in geothermal plants using new, cost-efficient processes. Appropriate processes are currently being trialled.
It could be possible to cover a significant part of Germany’s lithium needs from domestic extraction. Apart from sustainable extraction, domestic production can also create integrated value chains in Germany and jobs.
Environmental protection, renaturation and recultivation
Energy transition involving the phasing out of coal- fired generation requires the end of lignite mining by 2038 at the latest according to the current legal posi- tion. As a result of this, mine operators in the coalfields of the Rhineland, central Germany and Lausitz have to comply with more stringent requirements to satisfy renaturation and recultivation obligations because of the extensive adaptations caused by bringing forward the end of mining lignite. The necessary measures involve extra outlay and require more capital, which can no longer be covered by provisions from mining operations and may stay as a material demand on public funds.
You will find more detailed information on general measures for environmental protection, renaturation and recultivation in chapter 7.2 of this report.
Social factors in relation to the structural change in lignite regions
One of the aims of the Structural Strengthening Act (StStG, also see section a.iv) is to provide support to achieve the goal of structural change in the lignite regions and to encourage the creation of new eco- nomic structures. A large number of measures are planned for the period 2020 to 2038 during which support payments will be made. The Federal Govern- ment alone is responsible for a first group of these measures for which up to EUR26 billion have been earmarked. These measures will cover areas such as improving transport routes to the mining regions, different research projects and centres, and relocation of government institutions.
The second pillar is financial help from the Federal Government for projects of the Federal States. A total of EUR14 billion are available for this, and the Federal Government can provide support for up to ninety percent of the costs of the Federal States’ projects in the lignite coalfields. Opportunities for deployment are wide-ranging and cover areas such as development of infrastructure that is relevant to the private sector, tourism projects, digitalisation, urban and regional development and measures for climate and environmental protection.
These investments are supplemented by the STARK German Federal programme, which supports non- investment projects of Federal States and municipali- ties. Here, too, possibilities cover a large number of areas; for example, STARK can finance the operation of structural development companies and also technology transfer projects.
1 German Federal Climate Protection Act. URL: https://www.bmu.de/pressemitteilung/novelle-des-klimaschutzgesetzes-beschreibt-verbindli- chen-pfad-zur-klimaneutralitaet-2045/ (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
2 Climate neutrality or greenhouse gas neutrality (which is a more precise term for what is generally called climate neutrality) means no longer changing the atmosphere and thus the earth’s climate system after a certain point as a result of emitting greenhouse To achieve this, either the emission of greenhouse gases is reduced as a result of largely avoiding products and actions that will produce high emissions or greenhouse gases already emitted will be removed from the atmosphere through compensating projects. These include, for example, the selective extension of natural ecosystems that absorb CO2 (forests or peat bogs).
3 German Coal Phase-Out URL: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Artikel/Service/kohleausstiegsgesetz.html (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
4 Act to End Coal-Fired Power URL: https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl120s1795. pdf# bgbl %2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl120s1818.pdf%27%5D 1601384424365 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
5 Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (2020): Key components of the German Coal Phase-Out URL: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/ DE/Downloads/J-L/kerninhalte-kohleausstiegsgesetz-strukturstaerkungsgesetz.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=8 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
6 After the authorisation under state aid legislation, the tendering system will be adapted in future which relates to 2027. It is planned that the last tendering round will not take place in 2027 in order to ensure that there is a consistently high level of competition for the tenders.
7 There is no publicly accessible information to calculate the compensation sum.
8 Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (2020): Contract under public law to reduce and end electricity generation in Germany from lignite. URL: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/M-O/oeffentlich-rechtlicher-vertrag-zur-reduzierung-und-beendigung-der-braunkohlever- stromung-entwurf.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
9 https://lbgr.brandenburg.de/sixcms/media.php/9/Vorsorgevereinbarung.4166576.pdf
10 Structural Strengthening of Coal Regions URL: https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl120s1795. pdf# bgbl %2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl120s1795.pdf%27%5D 1601384039076 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
11 Source of the figures stated in section 7.2: BMWi (2018) (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy): Renewable energies in figures, national and international development in 2018. https://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/Berichte/erneuerbare-energien-in-zahl-
12 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2020): BGR energy study URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Down- loads/energiestudie_2019.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=6 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
13 Bundesverband Geothermie V. (Federal Association of Geothermal power) (2020): Status of research and need for research in geothermal power: URL:
14 On 3 September 2020 the European Commission published a study that posed similar questions and looked at the requirement for critical natural resources for the European Union as a whole. Among other issues this also looks at the status of the renewable energy sector. See here: https://ec.eu- eu/docsroom/documents/42881
15 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2019): Germany – Natural Resources Situation (Deutschland – Rohstoffsituation 2019) URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2018.html?nn=1542132 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
16 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2017): Domestic mineral resources – indispensable for Germany! URL: https://www.bgr.bund. de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/studie_mineralische_rohstoffe_2017.pdf? -blob=publicationFile&v= (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
17 The German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) ( 2021): DERA Rohstoffinformation (Mineral Resources Information) URL: https://www.deutsche-ro- hstoffagentur.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-50.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=3, (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
18 https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2018.html?nn=1542132
19 For information of natural resources as defined in the EU critical raw materials list, see: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-in- terest/critical_en
20 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2020): Germany – Natural Resources Situation 2019. (Deutschland – Rohstoffsituation 2019) 61. URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2019.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=5 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
21 Schmidt, M. (2017): Natural resources risk assessment – Lithium. – DERA natural resources information. URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemein- sames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-33.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=2 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
22 There is still no information from the responsible authorities on the planned start of production, possible reserves and resources for both Information on this can be found in information provided by the company itself.
23 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2021): Press release: BRG coordinates project: Research network studies lithium potential in URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/Pressemitteilungen/BGR/bgr-2021-10-26_lithium-poten- ziale-deutschland.html?nn=1544712 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
24 Saxon State Ministry of Economy, Labour and Transport (2017): Natural resources strategy for Saxony. URL: https://www.bergbau.sachsen.de/down- load/2017_12_06_SMWA_BR_Rohstoffstrategie_dt_WEB.pdf (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
