Germany’s coal exit could breach Paris climate goals by 1 bln tonnes of CO2 – analysis

If the German government adopts the commission recommendations for a coal exit by 2038, coal capacity would barely fall faster than a business-as-usual pathway over the next decade because ageing coal-fired power stations would be expected to retire anyway due to old age, according to an analysis by Simon Evans for UK-based climate and energy website CarbonBrief. “Only after 2030 does the coal commission’s proposal start to significantly bend the curve away from business as usual. In other words, it is recommending that forced early coal plant closures mainly take place after 2030,” writes Evans. The deal “could breach a Paris Agreement-compatible pathway by more than a billion tonnes of CO2.”