Germany has set out to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2022. This is why it is perceived as the green revolutionary flag. Now, however, it turns out that reality is far from answering a carefully constructed image. Germany is worse off than many other countries with the transformation of its energy to green energy. This results from a green energy analysis by McKinsey & Company, a consultant for the World Economic Forum. The Czech Republic was evaluated as a better average.

The study authors thoroughly analyzed the energy systems of 114 countries around the world. They rated them according to 40 indicators to which they assigned special categories. From the results, they have compiled a ranking that evaluates the development of energy transformation in each country.

Germany did not rank among the winners, the EU’s strongest economy ended in sixteenth place.

“It is perhaps painful for somebody to find that Germany has not reached the top ten,” Die Welt commented on the list. Particularly in Europe, a whole range of countries are best managed from an environmental point of view: all Scandinavian, but also Switzerland, Austria, Britain, and France.

Coal as a problem

The unfavorable ranking of Germany worsens above all the categories of a report called Structure of the Energy System. According to this criterion, the Federal Republic is ranked 110th out of the 114 countries surveyed. “This is mainly Germany’s dependence on coal-fired power plants, which still account for 42 percent of the current production,” the study said.

As a result, Germany is ranked 61st, also according to the Environment and Climate Protection Assessment Criterion. The main reason for this is the high carbon dioxide emissions of 906 million tonnes per year. In addition, their volume has not changed in Germany since 2014. There are countries where it is. The study shows examples of Denmark, which has reduced its dependence on coal-fired power plants from 91 percent to 28 percent over the past ten years and Britain, where it has fallen from 65 to 9 percent.

At the same time, both countries have increased the flexibility of electricity supplies by making greater use of gas and hydropower. Denmark has put in place the most wind power capacities per capita, and Britain is at the core.

Germany also does not perform well in terms of the performance of its own energy system. This criterion reflects the progress made in the transformation of energy, for example, in climate protection, economy (cost), and security and reliability of electricity supply. The Federal Republic is less concerned in this regard than Paraguay, Slovakia, or Indonesia.

One reason is the high price of electricity for households reaching an average of 30.8 cents per kilowatt-hour (82nd place in the world) and a price for smaller industrial customers (110th).

Top 10 most advanced countries with positive energy prospects

(points out of 100 possible)

  1. Sweden – 75.8
  2. Norway – 75
  3. Switzerland – 72.9
  4. Finland – 72.4
  5. Denmark – 72.4
  6. The Netherlands – 69.3
  7. Britain – 69
  8. Austria – 69
  9. France – 68.5
  10. Island – 67.8

The Czech Republic has a better average

The Czech Republic in the overall energy transformation index gained 56 out of 100 points and ranked 51st, ranking it at the end of a group of countries that report very good results. In evaluating the performance of the power system, the Czech Republic gained 60 points, but in the readiness to transform it only 52 points.

Among the advanced European economies, Prague occupies the penultimate place. But the Czech Republic has outpaced Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, Poland, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ranks among the emerging European economies.

McKinsey experts also took into account how much energy a country consumes per unit of gross domestic product, how much carbon dioxide emissions it produces per capita, and how much it can be reduced. They also took into account the costs of energy imports, state subsidies on fuel prices, and numerous other criteria.

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