Germany Will Close All Of Its Coal-Fired Power Plants By 2038

Germany is among the biggest
consumers of coal in the world. However, it will be shutting down all 84 of its
coal-fired power plants over the course of the next 19 years in order to stay
true to its international commitments made in the fight against climate change.

A government commission gave the
statement on Saturday. The announcement marks the starting of a paradigm shift
for Germany that has remained a leader on cutting CO2 emissions but slacked off
during the recent years, thus missing its reduction targets. As of right now,
coal-fired power plants make up 40% of Germany’s electricity.

Ronald Pofalla, chairman of the
28-member government commission, during a news conference in Berlin, after a
marathon 21-hour negotiating sessions that were concluded at 6 am Saturday,
said, ‘This is a historic accomplishment. It was anything but a sure thing. But
we did it. There won’t be any more coal-burning plants in Germany by 2038.’ The
plan features expenditures worth $45 billion for mitigating the pain in coal regions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is expected to adopt the recommendations
by the commission.

Claudia Kemfert, professor for energy
economics at the DIY Berlin – the German Institute for Economic Research –
said, ‘It’s a big moment for climate policy in Germany that could make the
country a leader once again in fighting climate change. It’s also an important
signal for the world that Germany is again getting serious about climate
change: a very big industrial nation that depends so much on coal is switching
it off.’

It should be noted that after the
Fukushima disaster in 2011, Germany had decided to shut down all of its nuclear
power plants by 2022. As of now, twelve out of the nineteen nuclear plants have
been shuttered. With the decision to cease working on coal-fired power plants,
Germany will have to rely on renewable energy to take care of 65-80% of its
power needs by 2040. Last year, renewable energy overtook coal as the leading
source and provided 41% of the country’s electricity.

Martin Kaiser, executive director of
Greenpeace Germany and a member of the commission, said, ‘It’s good that
Germany now has a clear road map for the phase-out of coal and we’re on the
path to becoming carbon-free.’

What do you think of the decision
taken by Germany about its coal-fired power plants?