Germany’s climate envoy stated on Monday that the country is expected to shut down its coal-fired power stations earlier than the mandated 2038 deadline due to increasingly unfavourable economics for coal plants.
In 2022, Germany made a $2.8 billion (2.6 billion euro) agreement with energy firm RWE in North Rhine-Westphalia, allowing the company to close its coal plants by 2030. This move indicates Berlin’s intent to accelerate its transition away from coal.
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“If you look at the modelling now and the calculations, it looks like it (the phase-out) will likely occur before 2038 just due to the economic viability,” Jennifer Morgan told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an industry event in London.
The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) developed countries recently pledged to phase out existing unabated coal power generation by the early 2030s in their energy systems.
But the final document also allowed an alternative commitment of phasing out coal-fired plants “in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of a 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise within reach, in line with countries’ net-zero pathways.”
Coal plays a significant role in Germany and Japan, accounting for over 25% of total electricity production last year.
During Japan’s presidency last year, the G7 committed to taking tangible steps towards phasing out coal power generation without specifying a particular deadline.
