The Local Germany

Merkel's flash of steel excites and dismays

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:17:00 +0200

German Chancellor Angela Merkel left her conservative party somewhat shell-shocked with her merciless sacking of a minister for a terrible regional election result that weakened her domestically as she fights the euro crisis.

CDU at loggerheads over minimum wage

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:50:00 +0100

A spat over whether Germany needs a minimum wage is likely to dominate the ruling Christian Democrats’ party conference on Monday. While many are pushing for a general minimum wage across all sectors, Chancellor Angela Merkel disagrees.

Plane crashes pose threat to nuclear plants

Tue, 17 May 2011 17:06:00 +0200

Germany's 17 nuclear power plants are generally considered safe, though four older reactors may close because they are exceptionally vulnerable to plane crashes, Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen said on Tuesday.

Clean energy can be cheap, minister says

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:56:00 +0200

Electricity prices will rise only slightly under the government’s plan to hasten the shift to renewable energy, Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen has said in an effort to bolster his case for green power.

Röttgen calls for 30-percent carbon cuts

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:31:00 +0100

German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen has stepped up expectations for climate change action in Europe, calling on neighbours to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

Gas could threaten nuclear waste depot

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:28:00 +0200

The former geological surveyor for the controversial nuclear waste depot Gorleben warned Wednesday that there could be dangerous gas deposits lurking beneath the old salt dome caverns.

Röttgen says 'ice broken' at Bonn climate talks

Tue, 04 May 2010 21:45:00 +0200

The highest octane political gathering on climate since the Copenhagen summit collapsed into near failure has helped restore trust but delivered no big breakthroughs, German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen said on Tuesday.

Coalition mulls extending nuclear phaseout to 2050

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:15:00 +0100

The German government is reportedly considering extending the scheduled end to nuclear energy until 2050, though it’s not clear whether some of the country's power plants can continue operating that long.

Röttgen could strip authority of nuclear waste storage duties

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:09:00 +0100

German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen is reportedly considering stripping the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) of its nuclear waste duties to expedite storage at the controversial Gorleben site.

Conservatives taking a battering on atomic energy, minister warns

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:11:00 +0100

Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen has intensified his calls for a quick nuclear energy phase out, warning conservative colleagues the issue was politically damaging, daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Saturday.

Röttgen says Asse nuke dump should close

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:18:00 +0100

Radioactive waste at the controversial Asse nuclear waste dump must be moved to a different facility, Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen said on Friday.

Two-degree target crucial to Copenhagen, minister says

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:34:00 +0100

Germany's environment minister said the Copenhagen climate summit would fail if nations did not agree to a maximum two-degree rise in Earth's temperature, in an interview published on Sunday.

Röttgen says Germany can't halt nuclear exit

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:03:00 +0100

Retreat from nuclear energy can no longer be halted, Germany’s new Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen told daily Bild on Wednesday.