German govt should follow coal exit proposal closely – comission co-leader

Germany’s coal exit should follow the Coal Exit Commission's final report as closely as possible, according to the commission’s co-chair Barbara Praetorius. “This is a carefully drafted and balanced document that has to be implemented exactly as it is set out, otherwise it won’t work,” she said at an energy industry event in Berlin. Praetorius, former deputy head of energy policy think tank Agora Energiewende*, described the proposal as “a script for effective climate action and modernisation of the economy” by which Germany would fulfill its climate commitments. The proposal includes review stages throughout the coming decade, which Praetorius said were important to ensure the project went through despite the “enormous” change it would entail. She stressed that supply security had “always been a priority” for the commission, but said it would not be prudent to make firm decisions on how it was to be guaranteed as that could rule out innovations made in the coming years.

The commission’s final report, agreed in late January after seven months of negotiation between industry representatives, environmental NGOs and other stakeholders, proposes shutting down the last coal plant in Germany no later than 2038 and includes measures to cope with economic disruption in coal-mining regions, keep power prices affordable, ensure supply security and comply with Germany’s emissions targets in the power sector.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.