Shifting from coal to gas not most cost-effective way to reduce carbon pollution – commentary

Although a new study has found that natural gas could replace coal as an electricity source without endangering the power supply, there are much cheaper ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, Kathrin Witsch writes in a commentary in the Handelsblatt. Since natural gas is more expensive than lignite, a more cost-effective way to reduce carbon pollution would, for example, be to shift freight traffic from trucks to trains and ships, according to Witsch. Regardless of the environmental and economic benefits of shifting from coal to gas, the latter will be the most important source of energy in Germany after 2030, Witsch writes.

Read the commentary in German here.

For background, read the dossiers on Cargo Transport and The role of gas in Germany’s energy transition and the factsheets Germany’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and Coal in Germany.