Germany is in the middle of an energy crisis. The exit from coal was therefore repeatedly questioned by voices from politics and business. The Greens counter that not only the climate, but also the energy costs would suffer.
Despite the current energy crisis, the Greens are sticking to a phase-out of coal by 2030. The dependence on Russia for energy policy weakens Germany and Europe and reduces the ability to “do business sustainably, i.e. in harmony with planetary boundaries and the freedom of future generations,” according to the Greens’ lead motion for the party conference in October. “The consistent political conclusion from this is the accelerated phase-out of coal as early as 2030.”
The leading motion can be found on the party’s website, initially the “Handelsblatt” reported on it. The paper goes on to say that a power supply “based on 100 percent renewables in 2035” is needed. This is “not only of central importance for the climate and the question of energy independence, but also to slow down the increase in energy costs”.
In the past few years, “too much has been missed and deliberately obstructed,” the application continues. “Important climate policy goals that we have set ourselves in Germany and worldwide will be missed in the foreseeable future.” In addition, the summer has once again shown that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and “more and more dangerous”.
In their coalition agreement, the traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP agreed to strive for an accelerated phase-out of coal-fired power generation in order to meet climate protection goals. “Ideally” that would be achieved by 2030. This goal had recently been called into question again and again because of the energy crisis and the extended reserve of coal-fired power plants.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet the prime ministers of the three east German lignite states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Lusatia on Friday: SPD politicians Dietmar Woidke, Michael Kretschmer and Reiner Haseloff from the CDU. The content of the talks is the structural change in the coal regions.
The coal commission had agreed the year 2038 as the exit year. According to the German Economic Institute, around 18,000 people are still employed in lignite mining in Germany.
