Germany will become first country in the world to exit from brown coal mining, coal-fired power plants should phaseout by 2038.
The decision was announced by the German government on Thursday press conference. The country decided to do so to fulfill commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Brown coal mining will be accompanied by huge investments to renewable energies, which are expected to be around €40 billion in coming 10 years.
“Germany, one of the strongest and most successful industry countries in the world, is taking huge steps towards leaving fossil fuel usage,” Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a news conference. According to Angela Merkel, the step is a turn-over. When she accepted the post in 2017, she perceived climate targets as unreachable.
“Negotiations were tough,” Social Democratic Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. “But the result is clear, Germany will become first country with carbon-free and nuclear-free economy. However, RWE as the biggest German energy producer announced it will have to reduce jobs in 6,000 in the end of the decade.
