Germany plans to phase out coal use eight years earlier than previously planned, as part of its latest climate pledge. The country wants 80 percent of its electricity to come from renewable sources. The leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party, Olaf Scholz, announced the plan on Wednesday as part of a deal that will see the former vice-chancellor govern the country at the head of a three-party coalition made up of the Greens and Free Democrats.
The Greens won 118 seats in the Bundestag in the national election in Germany, making it the party's best-ever showing. Annalena Baerbock is expected to be the foreign minister. Robert Habeck is likely to get the vice-chancellorship and the chance to oversee the country's energy transition.
The coalition did not set a more aggressive emissions reduction target. The country plans to cut emissions by 65 percent by the year 2030. Climate Action Tracker estimates that Germany needs to reduce its greenhouse gas output by at least 70 percent by the end of the decade to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target put forward by the Paris Agreement.
The Greens made a significant compromise in their deal with the Social Democratic Party. Natural gas will be used to ease the transition between coal and renewable sources. The coalition had to do more to push electric vehicle adoption. The government wants to have 15 million electric vehicles on German roads by the year 2030. The head of Campact told Clean Energy Wire that this does not look like a coalition for progress. The coalition needs to be made a climate government by the climate movement.
