ABSTRACT
Every country has an energy policy – something that directs how the energy that it uses within its economy is organised, and how it will develop over time. The more top-down and centrally directed a country is, the tighter and more directed the energy policy will be. Those countries with a more laissez-faire approach to their economies will be more likely to leave at least some of the policy to the market. Either way, energy policies are always political in that they are shaped and changed by politics and politicians, sometimes dramatically so, as the case of Germany illustrates. Fred Pearce, an environmental commentator, says that German environmental concerns about energy are not just about CO2 emissions, and that, if anything, Germans worry more about nuclear power than they do about climate change. The intention is also to increase the amount of wind energy that is generated.
