Why Coal Power Is Merkel’s Biggest Climate Challenge
Merkel is in a conundrum. She knows that if electricity prices in Germany rise any further, her exit from nuclear and her subsidy fuelled push for renewables will come into question. People will shine a bright light on the real problems and voters will be pissed. That’s not good for elections and hence business. better let the voters sleep. So, the woman that likes to elevate herself above her US counterpart kills Germans with coal emissions by refusing to close coal plants just in order to avoid hard questions.
The German government is deciding how quickly to close all the nation’s remaining coal-fired power plants, part of an effort to fulfill its pledges under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. While environmentalists hope Europe’s biggest economy will put fossil fuels on a short leash, utilities say any quick changes will drive up electricity prices. As an ad-hoc coal commission reconvenes this month to plot the exit, interest groups ranging from Germany’s biggest coal-plant owner, RWE AG, to the World Wildlife Fund are pushing their views on how regulators treat an industry that pumps out a third of all emissions.
