Clustered along the banks of the River Spree in central Berlin, Germany's parliament buildings are designed to make the most of natural light and the flow of air. Electricity and heat are provided by biofuel generators in the basement. The excess heat is then stored in great underground chasms to warm the buildings during winter — when cold from the outdoors is stored underground to cool the buildings again in summer. Even the Reichstag, originally built in the 19th century, now gets 60% of its power from renewable energy. So when lawmakers surveyed their environmental performance last month, you might have expected some self-congratulatory pats on the back. Their ruling? Not good enough. By the end of 2008, if all goes to plan, the Reichstag will run entirely on renewables.

This is the beauty of Germany's Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG), the Renewable Energy Sources law or "feed-in law" — the centerpiece of the nation's climate-change program. Without prescribing any specific action, the law subsidizes citizens who produce their own energy from renewable sources, and allows them to sell surplus back to the grid. The subsidies have meant that the production of renewable energy has been ramped up fast. The Environment Ministry estimates more than 14% of the country's electricity now comes from renewable sources. That's more than double the proportion in 2000, the year that a federal "Red-Green" government — a coalition of Social Democrats and Greens — introduced the EEG. Today the law has support from all of Germany's major political parties. "It's the most successful tool. It's the cheapest way of phasing in renewables," says Sven Teske, renewable-energy director for Greenpeace International.

Resource:  http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1730759_1734222_1734213,00.html

13th paper on 5th month:  Germany's efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by anticipating a new regulatory framework and its significance for environmental policy.