Coal commission proposal neglects climate protection – commentary
Handelsblatt
The leaked final report of Germany’s coal commission suggests it will not be ambitious enough when it comes to climate protection, argues Jürgen Flauger in a commentary for the business daily Handelsblatt. “A date for the definite end to coal-fired power generation and lignite mining in Germany is not planned. Climate protection has clearly been neglected so far. That’s wrong,” writes Flauger. “We have to tackle the coal exit energetically […] The current draft doesn’t do justice to climate protection, which is really the project’s core. This is why it remains open if it will get majority support at Friday’s session.”
Germany’s coal exit commission is in charge of suggesting how the world’s fourth largest economy could be weaned off the climate-damaging fossil fuel, and is expected to finalise its proposal in the coming days. A leaked draft of its final report suggests agreements on compensation for coal plant operators, support for affected mining regions, and measures to shield consumers from rising power prices, but does not contain a detailed timetable for the exit yet. Environmental NGO WWF has also criticised the commission for not making much headway in climate protection.
