After more than six months of intensive and multilateral deliberations with a wide range of experts and stakeholders, Germany’s coal exit commission has published its final report on how the country should phase out coal-fired power production.
As reported by Clean Energy Wire (CLEW), the final report of Germany’s coal exit commission released on January 26, 2019, sets out a pathway for the country to phase out the fossil power source and make progress on its slow emissions reductions. Delegations from industry, environmental NGOs, civil society and policymakers have agreed in talks lasting for more than half a year that Germany should end coal-fired power generation by 2038, with an option to end it by 2035.
In a first step, Germany should switch off 12.5 GW of lignite and hard-coal capacity by 2022. The document gives detailed answers on how the country can cope with the implications that a coal exit will have on the economic future of mining regions, on the power price, industrial competitiveness, supply security and the transition to a clean energy system.
Although the Commission’s conclusions are only advisory for the Germany government, it is widely anticipated that the government will follow the proposals.
