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Germany to phase out all coal-powered electricity by 2038

Source: Lignite powerplant Weisweiler Rhineland Germany/Wikimedia

Germany is planning to shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over a 19-year span in an effort to combat climate change.

Germany to end reliance on coal stations by 2038

A government commission announced on Saturday that Germany, one of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change. Fossil fuels currently provide nearly 40% of country’s power.

Germany to phase out coal-powered electricity by 2038 One of the world’s biggest consumers of coal pledges to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments to fight climate change. Source: YouTube/Euronews

Germany to end reliance on coal-fired power stations within 20 years

Germany has agreed to end its reliance on polluting coal power stations by 2038, in a long-awaited decision that will have major ramifications for Europe’s attempts to meet its Paris climate change targets, reports The Guardian.

Germany is the last major bastion of coal-burning in north-western Europe — and coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels, still provides nearly 40% of the nation’s power, compared with 5% in the UK, which plans to phase out the fuel entirely by 2025.

The commission said that gas would become Germany’s backup power of choice, rather than coal, which would make it more similar to the UK energy system.

However, one of the most contentious issues has been the cost of compensating energy firms for shutting coal plants before the end of their lifetime.

Source: TheGuardian

Thousands of people marched in Berlin and Cologne on Saturday, calling for Germany to abandon coal-powered electricity generation, on the eve of the climate conference in Poland.
Thousands march in Germany calling for end to coal power Thousands of people marched in Berlin and Cologne on Saturday, calling for Germany to abandon coal-powered electricity generation, on the eve of the climate conference in Poland. Source: TheLocal.de

Germany will be counting on renewable energy to provide 65% to 80% of the country’s power by 2040

The announcement marked a significant shift for Europe’s largest country — a nation that had long been a leader on cutting CO2 emissions before dropping the ball in recent years and badly missing its reduction targets. 

“This is an historic accomplishment,” said Ronald Pofalla, chairman of the 28-member government commission, at a news conference in Berlin following a marathon 21-hour negotiating session that concluded at 6 a.m. Saturday. 

The breakthrough ended seven months of wrangling. “It was anything but a sure thing. But we did it,” Pofalla said. “There won’t be any more coal-burning plants in Germany by 2038.”

The plan includes some €40 billion in spending to mitigate the pain in coal regions. The commission’s recommendations are expected to be adopted by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.

“It’s a big moment for climate policy in Germany that could make the country a leader once again in fighting climate change,” said Claudia Kemfert, professor for energy economics at the DIW Berlin, the German Institute for Economic Research. 

“It’s also an important signal for the world that Germany is again getting serious about climate change: a very big industrial nation that depends so much on coal is switching it off.”

The decision to quit coal follows an earlier bold energy policy move by the German government, which decided to shut down all of its nuclear plants by 2022 in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011. Twelve of the country’s 19 nuclear plants have been closed so far.

The plan to eliminate coal-burning plants as well as nuclear means that Germany will be counting on renewable energy to provide 65% to 80% of the country’s power by 2040. Last year, renewables overtook coal as the leading source and now account for 41% of the country’s electricity.

The initial targets are considerable, calling for a quarter of the country’s coal-burning plants with a capacity of 12.5 gigawatts to be shut down by 2022. That means about 24 plants will be shut within the first three years. By 2030, Germany should have about eight coal-burning plants remaining, producing 17 gigawatts of electricity, the commission said.

Cheap and abundant, coal is still the world’s leading source of energy to produce electricity and will remain so despite Germany’s decision.

Source: LATimes

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