Germany’s future government has no plans to accelerate coal phase-out, while nuclear remains disputed

Germany’s future government is backing away from the outgoing government’s ambition to accelerate Germany’s coal phase-out by 2030 and is sticking to the original 2038 deadline. Leaked documents from the negotiations reveal that many climate and energy issues remain contentious in the ongoing coalition talks between the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats. Environmentalists warned that the provisional agreements could represent a “huge step backwards” for climate protection not only in Germany, but also in Europe.

Germany’s future coalition government does not want to pursue the outgoing government’s effort to bring forward the end of coal-fired power generation in the country from the official 2038 deadline to 2030. This is according to leaked documents summarising preliminary agreements between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD).

The CDU and SPD are in the middle of formal coalition negotiations, and the leaked document summarises preliminary agreements reached in the first round of talks. These will now be discussed in greater detail by senior party officials in the main negotiating group, and could still result in major changes. Many proposals also remain contingent on securing funding.

Draft agreements reached by several thematic working groups, covering areas including climate and energy, as well as transport, infrastructure and construction, are intended to form the basis of a formal coalition agreement, which the parties aim to present in April or May.

The draft indicates that the parties intend to remain committed to meeting Germany’s climate targets, including the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2045. However, the document also shows that a number of issues, including the use of carbon capture in industrial sectors, remain contentious, according to media reports.

The parties also disagree over the dismantling of shut-down nuclear power plants. The CDU/CSU wants to explore the possibility of restarting recently shut-down nuclear plants.

“At the same time, we are seeking to carry out an expert assessment as quickly as possible of whether it is still feasible to restart recently shut-down nuclear power plants at reasonable technical and financial cost, given their stage of decommissioning. The assessment will be carried out by the Reactor Safety Commission and TÜV. Until then, the dismantling of the plants should be halted immediately, if possible by voluntary agreement with the operating companies,” the CDU/CSU says in the negotiating documents.

In the first round of exploratory coalition talks, which preceded the current formal negotiations, the parties had already agreed to expand renewable energy, reduce electricity prices for industry and households, and build 20 GW of gas-fired power plants as backup capacity for renewables.