Germans want coal exit law, population in affected mining regions divided – survey

Seventy-five percent of Germans say the country’s new government should introduce a law for a gradual coal exit without delay, according to an in-depth online survey and analysis by the University St. Gallen, commissioned by Greenpeace. But only 43 percent in the affected eastern German lignite mining region Lusatia agree. Sixty-four percent of participants from the Rhenish lignite region support the speedy introduction of a coal exit law. The results indicate that the population’s acceptance would be greater with an earlier coal exit, writes the analysis author Adrian Rinscheid. The survey was conducted in January 2018.

Find the survey results and analysis in German here and the Greenpeace press release in German here.

For plenty of background, read the factsheets When will Germany finally ditch coal? and the article Germany gears up for official talks on coal phase-out.