Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy
https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html
Germany, one of the worlds biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said Saturday.
The announcement marked a significant shift for Europes largest country a nation that had long been a leader on cutting CO2 emissions before turning into a laggard in recent years and badly missing its reduction targets. Coal plants account for 40% of Germanys electricity, itself a reduction from recent years when coal dominated power production.
This is an historic accomplishment, said Ronald Pofalla, chairman of the 28-member government commission, at a news conference in Berlin following a marathon 21-hour negotiating session that concluded at 6 a.m. Saturday. The breakthrough ended seven months of wrangling. It was anything but a sure thing. But we did it, Pofalla said. There wont be any more coal-burning plants in Germany by 2038.
The plan includes some $45 billion in spending to mitigate the pain in coal regions. The commissions recommendations are expected to be adopted by Chancellor Angela Merkels government.
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