SUMMARY:
The planned German
2038 coal exit will:
(1)
cost the German taxpayers
about 80 billion euros,
(2)
have little or no effect
on CO2 reductions,
(3)
have no measurable
impact on climate,
(4)
lead to higher
electricity costs,
(5)
result in a
more unstable
electric grid,
(6)
make Germany
more dependent
on foreign energy, and
(7)
encourage companies
to move manufacturing
to other nations, with
more stable and cheaper
electricity.
DETAILS:
The German government
recently decided to exit
from coal generated
electricity by 2038.
The German government’s
aim of a coal phaseout
is protecting the climate.
In reality, it will have
little or no impact at all.
German online FOCUS
magazine reports:
“80 billion euros
are to be given to
the affected regions
and companies
in the coming years
as aid and
compensation.”
The target date
for completing
the coal exit
risks
seeing Germany
emitting another
140 million tonnes
of extra CO2
between
2020 and 2040,
by exiting coal
so slowly,
according to the
German Institute
for Economic
Research (DIW).
But 140 million tonnes
is tiny, compared
with 33 billion
tonnes of CO2
emitted globally
each year.
Over the next 20 years,
global CO2 emissions
could total
700 billion tonnes,
( 5,000 times
greater than the
140 million tonnes,
that could be
eliminated by
speeding up
the coal phaseout.)
Assuming German
manufacturers move
to other nations:
“The coal exit changes
the CO2 emissions
of the European Union
by 0,” FOCUS quotes
economics professor
Christian Bayer of the
University of Bonn
at Twitter:
“A German coal phase-out
in itself only shifts emissions
abroad.”