Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has questioned the date for the coal phase-out mentioned in the coalition agreement. "As long as it is not clear that energy is available and affordable, we should put an end to dreams of phasing out coal-fired power in 2030," the FDP politician told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger."
In their coalition agreement, the SPD, Green and FDP parties had agreed to "ideally" bring forward the coal phase-out from 2038 to 2030.
"For the climate, this date does not bring anything anyway, because the CO2 emissions saved in Germany are allowed to occur additionally in Poland, for example, due to European rules," said the FDP minister.
The Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), on the other hand, considers 2030 as a phase-out year to be indispensable in order to achieve the climate targets. "The CO2 certificates released in Germany thereby must be deleted, so that the emissions also do not occur elsewhere in Europe. False information does not become correct just because it is persistently repeated," BUND chairman Olaf Bandt said on Wednesday. The 2030 coal phase-out has long been on its way, he said. "Coal-fired power will soon no longer be needed due to the enormous market dynamics of renewable energies."
