It is often argued that Germany's energy transition (the so-called "Energiewende") needs to be "Europeanized", so as to make the transition process more efficient. In particular, the German system of feed-in tariffs for renewables is criticized for being an obstacle to efficient European energy...

The German energy transition repeatedly faces harsh critiques questioning its economic and environmental merit. This article defends the Energiewende and argues that Germany has chosen a rational and particularly forceful approach to securing sustainable energy supply. Though current...

Germany has embarked on an ambitious project to transform its energy system until 2050 - the so-called Energiewende. Some critics contend that the Energiewende imposes unneces-sary and avoidable welfare losses due to a lack of integration within the EU. In contrast, these critiques largely miss...

In this paper, we employ a public choice perspective to analyze the development of policies for renewable energy sources (RES) in the EU in general and in Germany more specifically. In doing so, we explain the main characteristics of current RES policies in the EU by reference to the...

In this paper, we propose a comprehensive Public Choice framework to identify and categorize barriers to efficient public climate adaptation. Specifically, we distinguish three dimensions of public adaptation: extent, structure (form and timing) and organisation (vertical and horizontal). Within...

Bottom-up processes of policy convergence are increasingly discussed as a substitute for the absence of supranational energy policy coordination and harmonization in the EU. The overall objective of this paper is to analyse the development of government support to renewable energy R&D across EU...

Die fundamentale Transformation der Energieversorgung im Zuge der Energiewende berührt auch die Importabhängigkeit Deutschlands. Einerseits sind durch Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs und Umstellung auf "heimische" Erneuerbare Synergieeffekte zu erwarten. Andererseits stellen fluktuierende...