by P. Gosselin, February 22, 2020 in NoTricksZone

The German government recently decided to exit from coal generated power by 2038, and now one expert says that the exit is going to cost handsomely, and bring zero result. Still, that 2038 target is too slow for some.

That’s how German politicians make decisions on things that concern the economy and environment. The German government’s aim of a coal phaseout is to contribute to protecting the climate. In reality, it will have no impact at all.

German online FOCUS magazine reports here: “80 billion euros are to be given to the affected regions and companies in the coming years as aid and compensation.”

But for some experts, the 2018 target date for completing the coal exit is too late, and thus risks seeing Germany emitting another 140 million tonnes of extra CO2 between 2020 and 2040 by exiting so slowly, so claims the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).

To keep that 140 million ton figure in a global perspective, it is barely a drop in the bucket when compared to the 33 billion tonnes emitted globally and annually. The climate is not even going to notice it.

And over the next 20 years, global CO2 emissions could total 700 billion tonnes, which is a figure that is roughly 5000 times greater than the 140 million tons the DIW is bellyaching about and wishes to eliminate by speeding up the coal phaseout.

“The coal exit changes the CO2 emissions of the European Union by 0,” FOCUS quotes economics professor Christian Bayer of the University of Bonn at Twitter. “A German coal phase-out in itself only shifts emissions abroad.”

In summary, the 2038 coal exit will cost the German government (taxpayers) 80 billion euros, will have no effect on CO2 reductions, have no impact on climate, will ultimately lead to higher electricity costs, result in a more unstable grid, make Germany more dependent on foreign energy, and encourage companies to leave for places with more stable and cheaper electricity.