According to a report, the Greens want to bring forward the phase-out of coal throughout Germany to 2030.
This is a “necessary step to achieve the climate goals,” quoted the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Saturday edition) from a draft resolution for the parliamentary group retreat of the Greens parliamentary group next week in Weimar.
According to this, the lignite mining areas in East Germany are to be shut down eight years earlier than originally planned.
Greens want to continue to meet the 1.5 degree target
The Greens justify their move by saying that Germany is still not on the way to meeting the 1.5 degree target. “Coal, oil and fossil gas have no place in a climate-neutral country,” says the paper, according to SZ.
We want security and prospects for the people in the East German coal regions.
Katharina Dröge, leader of the Greens
Lignite in particular is “extremely harmful to the climate,” warns the decision, which is intended to put the project high on the federal government’s agenda.
SPD parliamentary group leader Müller rejects Green initiative
Resistance to bringing forward the exit from coal comes from the SPD faction.
“We have to keep our word on the timetable for the coal exit in eastern Germany,” said parliamentary group leader Detlef Müller on Saturday of the AFP news agency.
“Keeping new deadlines announced causes massive uncertainty among the local people,” said the politician.
The situation in the East German lignite mining areas cannot be compared with the infrastructure in NRW and RWE.
Detlef Müller, parliamentary group leader SPD
Müller said about the passage in the coalition agreement that an earlier exit than 2038 is “depending on conditions that are not currently in place”.
The structural change in the east requires “great efforts and patience so that the infrastructure can be modernized and renaturation measures take effect.”
Accelerated phase-out “ideally” by 2030
The coal commission had originally agreed 2038 as the exit year.
In their coalition agreement, however, 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” this should be achieved by 2030.
For North Rhine-Westphalia, an agreement between the federal and state governments and the energy company RWE now envisages the end of coal-fired power generation by 2030.
The Green Group calls for a similar approach in the East. “We want security and prospects for the people in the East German coal regions,” said parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge of the “SZ”.
What is needed is a “forward-looking policy that shapes structural change”. (AFP)
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Source: Tagesspiegel
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