Climate economist and co-chair of coal commission says 2030 climate targets define group’s duty

The 2030 emissions reduction target defines the duty and objectives of the commission tasked with planning Germany’s coal exit, climate economist Barbara Praetorius said in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel. “The 2030 climate targets are set, they provide a starting point and a framework for the commission’s work,” the commission’s co-leader said. Praetorius said the commission would do “everything” to ensure that the ambitious end-of-2018 deadline by which it is expected to present an end date for coal will be met. “The people in the affected regions need clarity about what will happen to them,” the former deputy head of the energy think tank Agora Energiewende said. Praetorius stressed that phasing out coal requires a societal consensus. “We will have to come up with proposals which give the regions confidence in a future after coal,” she said.

Read the interview in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article Commission watch – Managing Germany’s coal phase-out and the factsheet Germany’s coal exit commission.