The post you are reporting:
Protesting somewhere else. As a European I hardly view Germany as 'somewhere else'!
Here's what they are up to in the article above:-
[I]Germany set to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2038
Special commission calls for €40bn support package to ease green transition
Germany is set to phase out all its coal-fired power stations by 2038, under a plan agreed by a government-appointed commission.
The keenly awaited deal, announced on Saturday, calls for massive financial transfers — worth €40bn over the next 20 years — to regions in Germany where coal mining and coal power still play a significant role.
The commission also wants Berlin to shield households and the private sector from the rise in electricity prices that is expected to follow the phase-out, a move that could cost taxpayers a further €2bn a year.
The plan — if implemented by the government in the years ahead — would see Germany join a growing number of countries around the world that have decided to end the use of coal, a key source of greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Ronald Pofalla, one of the chairmen of the commission, the proposed phase-out will allow Europe’s largest economy to meet its climate change targets for 2030, which call for a sharp cut in carbon emissions from the energy sector. “This is a historic accomplishment,” Mr Pofalla told journalists in Berlin.
Berlin has long been viewed as a laggard in the campaign to phase out coal, denting the country’s credibility as a champion in the fight against climate change. Germany is more dependent on coal than most other western economies, and still boasts a large domestic lignite mining industry. Lignite, or brown coal, is among the dirtiest fuels around — and has long been a target for green campaigners.
Germany’s energy dilemma is further exacerbated by the government’s 2011 decision to exit nuclear energy by 2022, which takes out another reliable source of power.
Power plants that run on coal and lignite currently account for about 42 gigawatts of generation capacity, and produce 40 per cent of Germany’s electricity. Under the path proposed by the commission, coal capacity would be reduced to 30 gigawatts by the end of 2022 and 17 gigawatts by the end of 2030. The lost capacity from nuclear and coal is supposed to be largely replaced by renewable sources such as wind and solar, which are set to account for 65 per cent of power generation in the country by the end of the next decade.
Environmental groups on Saturday gave a guarded welcome to the coal deal: “Germany finally has a road map towards becoming coal-free. There will not be any new coal-fired power stations,” said Martin Kaiser, the director of Greenpeace Germany. “But the [commission] report has one severe flaw: the speed is not right. To exit coal only by 2038 is not acceptable to Greenpeace.”
Business leaders said they supported the deal. “This was a difficult birth,” said Steffen Kampeter, the managing director of the BDA employers’ federation. “Now it’s up to the federal government. The actions of the government will determine whether the proposals made by the coal commission can contribute to a climate and energy policy that is sensible and measured.”
The struggle over how and when to end the use of coal and lignite has roiled German politics for years. Industry leaders warned that a hasty phase-out of coal could lead to a dramatic spike in power prices and raise the risk of black-outs. Trade unions and local politicians raised alarm about job losses, especially in parts of poorer eastern Germany where lignite mining continues to play a central role.
Green campaigners insisted, however, that a speedy end to coal power was necessary for Germany to meets it climate change goals. Berlin has committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector by more than 60 per cent by 2030, using 1990 as the baseline.
Reaching the 2030 goal is seen as a priority not least because Germany has already admitted it is on track to fail its 2020 emissions targets — a severe embarrassment for a country that once prided itself on its green leadership.
In an attempt to break the deadlock, the government of Angela Merkel last year set up a special commission that included representatives of politics, industry and environmental groups. The commission had until February 1 to come up with a final report, but ended up striking a deal after a marathon session that lasted from Friday morning until the early hours of Saturday.
One of the side effects of the coal agreement is likely to be the preservation of Hambach forest, a small woodland that has become a symbol of the anti-coal movement — and the scene of mass protests last year.
Hambach was supposed to be cut down to make way for the planned expansion of a lignite mine operated by energy giant RWE in western Germany. The report itself says only that the preservation of Hambach is “desirable”. In practice, however, the commitment to shut down lignite plants with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts by 2022 makes it highly unlikely that the mine expansion will go ahead.
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FAR too little. FAR too late.
The problem was caused by another of Merkel's stupid knee-jerk reactions when she closed down working nuclear generation after the Japanese accident leaving Germany WITH de-commissioning costs but WITHOUT the incredibly cheap running costs with zero carbon output.
Meanwhile while WE still haven't used ANY coal for generation since last Thursday as of time of posting , China is setting up Coal fired power stations all along the Belt and Road through Asia and Africa using Chinese firms to construct and leaving the countries in hock to Chinese banks.