Parliamentarians see tough road ahead for coal exit proposal
SWR / dpa / Spiegel Online
Grand coalition politicians鈥 first reactions to the coal commission proposal on how Germany could phase out the fossil fuel by 2038 at the latest show that the legislative process could prove difficult over the comings months, as government and lawmakers need to decide crucial details. 鈥淧oliticians must now implement the proposal,鈥 said Matthias Miersch, deputy head of the Social Democrats鈥 parliamentary group in the Bundestag . The coal exit is also connected to the coalition鈥檚 goal to expand renewables to 65 percent of power consumption by 2030, which would require 鈥渟ome convincing with the CDU/CSU鈥, he said. Economy minister Altmaier 鈥渉as to deliver鈥 and for example raise Germany鈥檚 offshore wind expansion cap.
Economy policy spokesperson of Angela Merkel鈥檚 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Joachim Pfeiffer said the agreed phase-out deal lacked crucial details. 鈥淭he exact extent of the necessary financing for structural economic support, compensation payments and other measures is just as unclear as the effects of an early shutdown of power plants on supply security and power prices,鈥 .