Next German government must quickly take coal plants offline – Greenpeace head

The only way to enable “Chancellor [Angela] Merkel’s next government to reach the 2020 climate target is to exit from coal-fired power generation,” writes Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International in a guest commentary in the Frankfurter Rundschau. During recent visits to Asia, Morgan had witnessed the international reaction to news that Germany might give up on its 2020 climate target. “In China, South Korea, and Taiwan – countries that currently set the guidelines for their future energy supply – nuclear and coal companies gratefully pounce on Germany’s lily-livered energy policy,” writes Morgan. Merkel must no longer supply international climate protection critics with “cheap excuses,” and should make sure that concrete steps toward Germany’s coal exit are included in the future coalition treaty, rather than being decided by a commission by the end of 2018, writes Morgan.

Find the guest commentary in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article German party leaders agree energy policy blueprint for coalition talks, and the coalition watch.