Germany Sticks To 2030 Coal Exit Target Amid Energy Worries

• The German government said Monday (June 20) that it remains committed to its goal of phasing out coal as a power source by 2030, despite deepening worries about a cut in Russia’s gas supplies. 
• Russia’s Gazprom announced last week that it was sharply reducing supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany for what it said were technical reasons. The German government says the move appears to be politically motivated. 
• On Sunday (June 19), Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Germany will try to compensate for the move by allowing increased burning of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel. Habeck, a member of the Green party, said the move was “bitter” but “simply necessary” to lower gas usage. 
• In the neighbouring Netherlands, the government announced Monday that despite Moscow’s reductions in gas deliveries to parts of Europe, it still plans to close the biggest Dutch natural gas field in 2023 or 2024, but will also allow coal-fired power stations to operate at full capacity again in order to conserve gas that would otherwise be burned to produce electricity. 
• The government had been phasing out the use of coal to generate power by allowing coal-fired power stations to operate only to a maximum of 35% of their capacity in recent years as it aims to transition to sustainable energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions. 
• When asked Monday to what extent the coal exit strategy is now in doubt, a spokesman for Habeck's ministry said that the coal exit in 2030 isn't wobbling at all, and it is more important than ever that it happens in 2030.

(Source: AP News)