Kretschmer criticizes G7 agreement to phase out coal by 2035

Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer has criticized the agreement reached by the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers to phase out coal by 2035. The CDU politician said on Tuesday in Boxberg that the federal government was "destroying trust in the participation processes and the reliability of agreed compromises". The energy transition by 2035 will cost "1,200 billion euros", "It is completely unclear where this money will come from, who could implement the investments and, crucially, what this horror sum would mean for electricity prices and thus for Germany's competitiveness."

Kretschmer pointed out that "we have a valid law in which the end of coal-fired power generation is set for 2038". This law was the result of an intensive process involving many social groups. "Instead of continuing to fly blind according to the principle of hope, our country needs a realistic plan for its energy supply," he demanded.

The ministers of the leading western industrial nations (G7) agreed on a coal phase-out by 2035 at their meeting in Italy. This was confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Economics on Monday evening. According to a spokesperson, Germany had played a key role in achieving such a decision on a clear end date for coal-fired power generation for all G7 countries.