German Coal phase-out on agenda for coalition talks – state sec

Germany must start phasing out coal-fired power generation as the next step of its energy transition, and the matter was also on the agenda of the talks to form a new government coalition in Berlin, the state secretary in the economy and energy ministry, Rainer Baake, said at a side event to the global climate conference COP23 in Bonn. Power sector emissions had come down substantially in Germany thanks to the roll-out of renewables and efficiency gains, but the coal phase-out was the missing piece. Beyond that, electrification of other sectors such as transport and heating plus strong efficiency efforts were the next big tasks to tackle, said Baake, who had been briefing the parties as talks got stuck over energy and climate issues.

Follow the talks on the Clean Energy Wire’s coalition watch.