Paris on Thursday criticized the idea of a possible “resurgence of fossil energy” such as coal in Germany, at a time when this country is preparing to say its final goodbye to nuclear energy.
“It goes without saying that the reactivation of fossil energy to compensate for the exit of nuclear is not in line with the climate action that we are all carrying out collectively at the European level,” the office of the Minister for Energy Transition indicated in particular. Agnes Pannier-Runacher.
“In addition, this emits sulfur emissions in particular that have an impact at the European level,” we added in particular, in response to a question from a journalist in Germany during a presentation on climate issues at a G7 meeting in Japan.
In addition to their contribution to global warming, coal-fired power plants emit sulfur dioxide that is detrimental to air quality.
A “temporary” increase in coal
As of Saturday, the last three nuclear reactors in operation in Germany will be shut down definitively, which contributed 6% of the energy produced in the country in 2022, 21 years after their decision to abandon the atom. On the other side of the Rhine, in France, 62.7% of the electricity produced was of nuclear origin in 2022.
“Each country is responsible for its own energy choices (…) however, we share the European objectives of decarbonizing the economy,” the ministry’s cabinet also stressed.
In Germany, coal still accounts for almost a third of electricity production, a structural drop over the past decade, but rising 8% last year to make up for the absence of Russian gas after the war in Ukraine.
The German government says this increase will be temporary and stands by its goal of shutting down all of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2038, including a large number by 2030.
Germany is betting on wind and solar power to cover 80% of the country’s electricity needs by 2030. But many gas-fired power plants, which are also harmful to the climate, will also have to be built to make up for the intermittency of renewables.
For months, Paris and Berlin have been divided over the role of nuclear power in the future reform of the European electricity market.
Source: BFM TV
