Dresden (dpa/sn) – In the debate about a premature exit from lignite, the Greens accused Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) and thus their coalition partner of “denial”. “We expect Prime Minister Kretschmer and all East Prime Ministers to recognize the economic and climate-scientific reality: by 2030 at the latest, lignite will no longer be economical and no longer compatible with the climate goals in the energy sector,” said Marie Müser, Chair of the Greens Wednesday in Dresden. Anyone who stubbornly and dogmatically sticks to the phase-out date of 2038 despite the realities of the market economy is jeopardizing the competitiveness of Saxon industry.

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) recently brought an early exit from lignite by 2030 in East Germany into play. Kretschmer repeatedly warned against such a step and urged reliability. The year 2038 was originally set as the date for the coal phase-out. In its coalition agreement, the traffic light coalition in Berlin formulated that it would “ideally” exit by 2030. The Saxon Greens boss Müser described Habeck’s initiative as a “broad offer of talks”.