Germany May Ditch Coal After Nuke Power

Europe’s largest economy, Germany is considering seriously to avoid coal for electricity generation in an effort to keep cuts in carbon emissions on target.

The government in Berlin is now debating ditching the use of coal, which generates almost half of Germany’s electricity after deciding to cut out nuclear power earlier.

However, the government is split over the issue with only weeks until cabinet is due to present its next climate action plan on December 3.

Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said that if Germany doesn't reduce its use of coal, it has no chance of achieving its 2020 goal of cutting global warming carbon emissions by 40 percent to the 1990 level.

Others said there’s no way around using coal, because of the costs, the thousands of jobs involved, and energy security.

Another factor has been the collapse of the European emissions market, a system meant to factor in the environmental cost of burning fossil fuels. As the penalty for carbon emissions has dropped in price, coal plants have become more lucrative.