RWE head Schmitz says German coal exit by 2030 is impossible
Germany will not be able to phase out coal-fired power production by 2030, said Rolf Martin Schmitz, head of RWE, the country鈥檚 biggest power producer and Europe鈥檚 biggest private emitter of CO2. In an interview with the Rheinische Post on the eve of the first meeting of Germany鈥檚 coal exit commission, Schmitz said, 鈥淧olitical gestures don鈥檛 produce electricity.鈥� He argued that the speed of Germany鈥檚 power grid expansion and the growing share of renewables will determine when the last coal plant is taken offline. Existing coal plants should be considered a 鈥渂ridge technology鈥� and if policymakers wanted to 鈥減rematurely鈥� end the use of coal, 鈥渢hey will have to put a price tag on that, which says how many jobs will be lost, by how much the power price will rise, and that companies might leave the country because supply security becomes more difficult.鈥�
Read the interview in German .
For background, see the factsheet Germany鈥檚 coal exit commission and the article Germany starts coal exit talks in bid to improve patchy climate record.