No coal exit with a conservative-liberal coalition after general elections

A German coal exit is unlikely to be introduced in the foreseeable future if a coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU), Christian Socialists (CSU) and Free Democrats (FDP) take over the federal government after the September elections, writes klimaretter.info in an article based on political party surveys by EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable Energy. The CDU and CSU said a reduction of coal power was necessary for climate protection, but Germany would still need “baseload conventional power plants (also highly efficient gas plants) for some time”, as long as there weren’t enough competitive storages in combination with renewable energy. The FDP said that “a complete exit from coal-fired power generation is neither an imperative necessity to fulfil the Paris Agreement nor an end to itself.”

Read the article in German here and find the party’s full replies in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossier Vote2017 - German elections and the Energiewende.