Industrial powerhouse states plan to step it up on renewables, climate
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / S眉ddeutsche Zeitung / 威力彩玩法
The government of the western German coal state and industrial power house of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has presented an 鈥,鈥 which includes a plan to double the state鈥檚 renewables capacity by 2030, (FAZ). State economy minister Andreas Pinkwart that NRW planned its coal exit 鈥渋f possible by 2035, but by 2038 at the latest,鈥 which is in line with the recommendations of Germany鈥檚 coal exit commission. Pinkwart also told the FAZ that a power grid stress test planned for next year would identify weaknesses and ensure supply security. 鈥淲e need certainty that the coal exit combined with the closure of the last nuclear power plants in 2022 will not jeopardise grid stability.鈥
More than half of the country鈥檚 installed lignite power capacity and a third of its hard coal capacity are located in the industry-heavy and most populous German state, writes the FAZ. Germany鈥檚 coal commission has recommended that the state exit the fossil fuel by 2038 at the latest, and the German government has said that there was a general agreement with NRW-based mine operator RWE that the first lignite mines to be closed down should be older plants in western Germany.
The conservative state premier of another German industrial powerhouse 鈥 southern Bavaria 鈥揗arkus S枚der (CSU), meanwhile, reiterated that climate action was now a priority, . He announced that the state would step up a programme of planting trees, aiming for 30 million new trees over the coming five years. Forest management should now focus on climate relevance and not on financial gains for the state.