IEA Chief Says Germany's Coal Phase-Out Plan To Have Minimal Effect On Energy Market

IEA Chief Says Germany's Coal Phase-Out Plan to Have Minimal Effect on Energy Market

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday in an interview with Sputnik that Germany's new initiative to gradually abandon coal power would have a limited effect on the global energy market

DAVOS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2020) Anastasia Levchenko - International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday in an interview with Sputnik that Germany's new initiative to gradually abandon coal power would have a limited effect on the global energy market.

On Thursday, the German government and the leaders of and leaders of the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, which operate lignite mines and coal-fired power plants, agreed on a plan to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2038. The relevant draft bill will be prepared later in January and is expected to get passed by parliament in the first half of 2020.

"Germany today represents less than 2% of global coal demand and most of it is domestically produced lignite. Therefore, the effect on the global energy market will be rather limited, although Germany is still the largest coal importer in Europe," Birol said.

He added that it was important that Germany's initiative did not undermine other climate instruments, such as the EU emissions trading scheme.

On Thursday, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said that the first batch of coal-fired power plants in the country was expected to close in 2020. By 2038, the four coal-mining regions will receive 14 billion Euros ($15.5 billion) to help them with the transition.