In 2020, the German government enacted a law that makes 2038 the final year for coal use. Now there are plans to reach that goal by 2030. It will be difficult for the U.S. to follow a similar path.
ESSEN, Germany — In a coal heartland of Germany stands a monument to the source of its economic might: a giant mine more than a half-mile deep that once produced the largest amount of coal in the world.
The transformation of this region remains a work in progress. But it is often held up as an example of how a country that has built its fortunes on the world’s most polluting fossil fuel can untangle its addiction. That framework was developed by disparate voices who came together to negotiate the transition. Trade unions, environmentalists, coal executives and lawmakers agreed to the phaseout. It was a hard-fought compromise.
“When we learned that their government had brought together all of the suspects — industry, labor, communities — and spent something like 18 months putting together a national plan that covered how they were going to phase out coal over the course of two decades, the American imagination fails. You can’t conceive of such a thing happening in this country,” he said.
It called for five years of wage replacement for displaced workers, and continued health care coverage and education benefits for workers and their children. The idea was that more support and better planning could ease the pain of an impending coal exit. 'This won't work' Germany’s coal exit is still underway. Its initial phase focused on what it terms “hard coal,” the type typically mined in U.S. coal states like Wyoming and West Virginia for use in industry and electricity generation.
As part of the earlier phaseout plan, German lawmakers passed legislation setting aside more than €40 billion over the next two decades to help areas that will lose jobs and income as coal dries up. But Germany won't be able to hit that mark without accelerating its coal phase-out date from 2038 to 2030. The new government proposed that new timeline after the departure of Chancellor Angela Merkel last month.“It is necessary that the new government gives a clear sign that no one is left behind,” said Frederik Moch, head of the department for structural policy, industry and services at the German Trade Union Confederation.
Compounding impacts The solutions will differ by place, and Germany has put an emphasis on tailoring solutions to local communities based on their input.In one area, outdoor recreation may be the best answer. In another it may be manufacturing for clean energy components, said Richardson of the Union of Concerned Scientists.