Energy in transition: a comparative analysis of the Australian and German legal frameworks for the decarbonization of the energy sector in response to climate change

[Truncated abstract] Global climate change is a major threat to the world. The main driver for climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases due to the use of fossil fuels for energy supply. To limit the danger of irreversible and practically uncontrollable consequences for both, nature, and humankind, global warming has to be limited to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius. To this end, global greenhouse gas emissions need to decrease immediately. Developed nations such us Australia and Germany have to decarbonize their energy sectors almost completely, in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 to 95 per cent below the 1990 baseline by 2050, with further reduction towards zero emissions thereafter. Australia and Germany have reacted differently to this challenge: Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector have declined by 15.4 per cent from 1990 to 2008, whereas Australia’s emissions have increased by 53 per cent during the same period. Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector of 19 tonnes per person are among the highest of all nations; Germany accounts for 10 tonnes per capita. These divergent numbers correlate with a relatively high degree of legislative activity in Germany at federal level to decarbonize the energy sector. Its legal framework that aims at transforming the energy sector is characterized by a complex variety of sophisticated instruments in the electricity, heating and cooling, as well as in the transport sector.