Germany’s move away from coal comes with a twist

German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck says a decision from energy company RWE to phase out coal earlier than planned is good for the environment. Photo by Filip Singer/EPA-EFE

Germany aims to draw entirely on renewable energy for its electricity by 2035 and achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2045. The regional energy crisis brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, has created obstacles to achieving those goals. A plan to phase out nuclear power, for example, was scrapped in order to avoid power shortages over the coming winter.

German Energy Minister Robert Habeck praised the decision from RWE, saying the early shutdown will avoid some 280 million tons of CO2 emissions, which represents about a third of the nation’s current annual emissions.

“It’s a good day for climate protection,” Habeck said, according to Politico.

But in order to phase out coal early, RWE needs to extend the life of two lignite-fired power units until March 2024. Those plants were supposed to close this year and the extended life means RWE will have to tear down an entire village, now abandoned, to mine the feedstock necessary to keep operations up and running.

Friends for Future Germany, part of an international group of environmental activists, said the lignite decision was a slap in the face.

“It’s not a ‘good day for climate protection,'” the group said from its official Twitter account. “You’ve just caved in to RWE’s profit interests and are sacrificing an entire village for coal that we don’t need.”

Lignite is considered a type of coal and as such has a substantial environmental footprint. RWE added, however, that it was committed investing nearly $15 billion by 2030 on its core green energy business in Germany.