Germany remains one of the most coal-reliant countries in Western Europe, but that’s all set to change after a new bill was passed in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.
The bill sets the conditions under which Germany will abandon coal as a power source in order to meet climate targets. Germany will abandon nuclear energy by 2022 and coal by 2038 at the latest, and will simultaneously aim for 55% cuts in greenhouses gas emissions by 2030 over 1990 levels.
The bill, however, comes with a bit of controversy as it involves over 50 billion euros for mining and power plant operators, affected regions, and employees to cushion the impact of the transformation from coal to renewables. `While that will help utility groups, labor unions, and energy consumers to cope with the transition, green groups say the time schedule was too slow and the deal too costly for taxpayers.
