What Germany's New Government Means for Energy & Climate — Ep199: Patrick Graichen @CleaningUpPod

Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

In February, Germany elected a new government. Friedrich Merz emerged as the new leader, but what are his energy and climate policies, and will Germany remain a climate leader in Europe and beyond?

Joining Cleaning Up this week is Patrick Graichen, a former Energy and Climate minister in the last government, representing the Green Party. Prior to entering government, Patrick ran the think tank Agora Energiewende, working on energy from 2001 to 2012. With his deep expertise Patrick offers unique insights into the evolving political landscape and its potential impact on Germany, Europe, and beyond.

Patrick has witnessed how shifting public opinion can stall progress, and was responsible for a highly contested policy to phase out gas boilers and phase in heat pumps, which ultimately caused him to quit government. Bryony Worthington asks Patrick what he learned from that phase, and digs into the big questions surrounding the German car industry, nuclear power and the future of gas.

Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links:
• Agora Energiewende: agora-energiewende.org
• Patrick's Previous Appearance on Cleaning Up: youtu.be/MBCX7aZcRWI
• Episode 154 with Kensa CEO, Tamsin Lishman: youtube.com/watch?v=-TpHa-uU6lc

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
03:54 - German Election Results
07:11 - Who is Friedrich Merz
09:30 - Energy & Economic Growth
11:00 - The German Debt Brake
15:00 - Navigating the Coalition
16:50 - The Future of German's Car Industry
21:00 - China and EU Tariffs
24:30 - The End of Tesla in Germany?
32:20 - Nuclear
35:20 - The Future of Gas
39:45 - Heat Pumps
43:30 - Backlash
47:55 - Emissions Targets
50:15 - Renewables
54:45 - Europe & Germany
59:00 - Carbon Taxes & Emissions Trading
01:02:44 - Outro

What Germanys New Government Means for Energy & Climate — Ep199: Patrick Graichen

$How To Build Clean Energy In The Global South — Ep196: Lucy Heintz The global south needs to build out vast amounts of clean energy, and requires hundreds of billions of dollars annually to do. And yet, only a fraction of the investment going into clean energy and the net-zero transition is flowing into those growth markets. So why are so few investing? Lucy Heintz is partner and head of energy infrastructure at Actis, whose most recent Energy Fund represents over $6 billion of investable capital. She is a driving force behind the small slice of investment which does address clean energy in growth markets. Lucy joins Cleaning Up to unpack Actis approach to investing in critical clean energy infrastructure projects across the Global South. From assembling renewable energy platforms to managing foreign exchange risks, Lucy shares the strategies that have historically allowed Actis to succeed in markets that many consider to be too risky. The Acronym Corner: • BII - British International Investment; the UKs development finance institution. https://www.bii.co.uk/en/ • LP - Limited Partner, the capital provider for fund • DFI - Development Finance Institution, e.g. BII • DISCO - A distribution company, in places like India and Pakistan. Responsible for distributing energy from producers to consumers. • DNO - Similar to a DISCO but UK focused, a company licensed to distribute electricity. • PPA - Power Purchase Agreement — A long term contract between an electricity producer and a customer, that guarantees electricity be bought and sold at a pre-negotiated price for the period of the agreement. • MIGA - The World Banks Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Its mandate is to promote cross-border investment in developing countries by providing guarantees (political risk insurance and credit enhancement) to investors and lenders. See: https://www.miga.org/about-us Leadership Circle: Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. Links and more: • Actis Energy Infrastructure Fund: https://www.act.is/about-us/sectors/energy/ • https://youtu.be/H028Vwf7pNM • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLDuV6EDcBM • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktWh_G6Sw_g • Actis 2024 Highlights film https://www.act.is/media-centre/video-gallery/actis-2024-year-review/ • Intro to Actis: https://vimeo.com/1048509095/bdddcd18eb?share=copy • IPE: Generating alpha returns in energy infrastructure: - https://www.act.is/media-centre/actis-in-the-media/ipe-generating-alpha-returns-in-energy-infrastructure/ •.Infrastructure Investor: Actis: Shining a spotlight on emerging markets: https://www.act.is/media-centre/actis-in-the-media/infrastructure-investor-actis-shining-a-spotlight-on-emerging-markets/ • New Private Markets, De-risking transition investments in emerging markets: https://www.act.is/media-centre/actis-in-the-media/new-private-markets-actis-on-de-risking-transition-investments-in-emerging-markets/ Disclaimer: The statements made by Actis executives are as at February 2025 and are not necessarily representative of the views of executives of portfolio companies in which Actis has invested, and Actis assumes no obligation to update the information herein. Please refer to the following link for further important information in relation to this podcast: https://www.cleaningup.live/a-clean-energy-playbook-for-the-global-south-ep196-lucy-heintz/ Chapters 00:00 - Introduction$

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