Un atelier franco-allemand consacré aux politiques énergétiques et organisé par l'Iddri et Global Chance.
Présentation [en anglais] :
"As shown by their current electricity mixes, Germany and France developed quite different energy supply strategies over the last two decades. The recent Fukushima accident could widen the gap between the two countries as it has clear consequences on both French and German energy policies. In France, Fukushima called into question the reliance on nuclear power, while the German Chancellor recently announced that Germany will complete the phasing out of its nuclear programs as soon as possible. Energy mix and policy are thus reentering the political agenda. The two countries’ power grids are closely linked and cannot be considered independently; it is therefore of crucial importance for the two countries to understand each other’s strategic choices.
Germany and France are two leading countries in Europe and, despite structural differences, their economies have similar levels of development. Their gross domestic products per capita are comparable and evolved following a similar pattern between 1990 and 2008, German reunification notwithstanding. Despite these similarities, the two countries reacted very differently to the financial crisis: The French economy initially resisted the economic pressures in some measure but seem to have difficulties rebounding, while Germany felt its impact more immediately and recovered more rapidly. These observations have triggered a wave of comparisons between the two countries. These comparisons focused primarily on economic policies, letting aside energy systems and policies.
Although there is currently no common energy policy at the European level, this is clearly a strategic issue for the Union. Indeed, rising world energy demand, political unrest in the Arabian Peninsula and the European debt crisis raise concerns about oil dependency, supply security and energy prices. In this context, increasing energy efficiency and implementing renewable energy policies could offer efficient long term solutions to member states as described in the European climate and energy package and the recently published Roadmap 2050.
Global Chance conducted a comprehensive German-French comparison on energy supply, demand, and exchanges. The study revealed interesting differences regarding the use of renewable energies as well as energy efficiency and demand patterns. Building on this data analysis, two research papers by IDDRI investigate respectively renewable energy and demand management policies of the two countries from the early 1990’s to 2009. In terms of energy demand, the two neighbors face similar challenges in the decades ahead. On the supply side, the French and German energy systems are closely connected, though the strategies they implemented diverge, especially with regard to nuclear energy.
Consequently, it is paramount for France and Germany to understand each other and cooperate on energy demand and production issues. The energy system and policy comparisons will provide the foundations for a process of mutual learning that builds on the successes of both countries in order to facilitate further cooperation in the energy field."
>> Télécharger le programme de l'atelier [en anglais]
