Germans Hesitate on Coal Phase-Out Target in Merkel Policy Paper
- Government paper avoids setting phase out goal for coal power
- Germany relies on coal even as it tops the EU in green energy
Hard coal and lignite plants owned by RWE AG and EON SE generated about 43 percent of Germany’s power last year.
Photographer: Gary Gardiner/Gary Gardiner/SmallTown StockThis article is for subscribers only.
A policy document prepared for Chancellor Angela Merkel shows the German government is hesitating to set fixed coal-reduction targets ahead of national elections.
Even as the European Union’s biggest economy boasts the most installed green power on the continent, it also continues to emit the most greenhouse gas in the 28-nation bloc. That paradox is forcing Merkel, who’ll campaign for a fourth term in 2017, to manage political constituencies at odds with each other.