Merkel dodges coal deadline
BONN, GERMANY >> German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a veteran of global efforts to curb climate change, disappointed environmental campaigners Wednesday by refusing to lay down a deadline for ending her country’s use of coal.
Green groups and developing countries had called on Merkel to use global climate talks in Bonn, Germany, this week to set a date for her country to phase out coal-fired power plants — as she has previously done with nuclear energy.
Merkel, sometimes referred to as the “climate chancellor” for her longstanding efforts to combat global warming, acknowledged that Germany’s practice of burning coal to generate electricity is one reason it’s not on track to cut its carbon emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
Speaking to leaders and ministers from around the world, Merkel said there will be “hard discussions” on the issue in her upcoming talks with the Green party and the pro-business Free Democrats on forming a new government.
Germany generates about 40 percent of its electricity from coal, including the light brown variety called lignite that’s considered to be among the most heavily polluting fossil fuels.
“Coal, especially lignite, must contribute a significant part to achieving these goals,” Merkel said. “But what exactly that will be is something we will discuss very precisely in the coming days.”
Speaking immediately after her, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was committed to ending the use of coal by 2021. The task is made a lot easier for France by the fact that the country hardly has any coal-fired plants and still gets most of its electricity from nuclear power.
Several other countries, including Britain, Canada and Italy have also announced they will stop using coal in the coming years.
Macron, who has styled himself as a climate champion since his election, said Europe should fill the gap in funding for the U.N.’s scientific expert panel on climate change left by the U.S. decision to hold back its contribution.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will cut funding for the panel, known as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which provides key guidance on global warming to governments around the world.