The Federal Cabinet brings the law to the coal exit to the Parliament. In design, everything is regulated – just not how much CO2 is saved.

Must go in spite of coal's exit is first connected to the grid: the coal-fired power plant Datteln 4 in NRW photo: Marcel Kusch/dpa

BERLIN taz | The self-congratulation, they agreed that A "breakthrough to a significantly more climate protection", a "big step", a "round package" was the "law for the reduction and termination of the coal-fired power generation", the Minister said on Wednesday for the economy, Peter Altmaier (CDU), for finances, Olaf Scholz, and for the environment, Svenja Schulze (both SPD) in the Bundestag. The Federal Cabinet adopted on Wednesday the bill, it now goes to the Parliament. Thus, the use of Coal is to be completed by 2038, subsidies for the regions and business flowing and employees are protected.

disagreement, it was only in the Detail: The law will reduce German CO2 emissions by a third, so Altmaier. For Schulze, however, this is only a quarter. No great dissent – but with a level of detail of the draft law, 202 pages the exit controls, so little he says about how the law uses the factory to the climate.

this is Because the CO2 reduction, the act leaves open questions. For example, the decision of the "coal Commission will not be implemented", that 2025 should also be 10 million tons saved. Now, according to the environment, only 2.5 million tons of guards, the Rest comes later. Because the brown would expire carbon later, and in two large spurts, there would be 40 million tonnes more CO2 than necessary, had been charged last week by the energy expert at the Öko-Institut's Felix Matthes,. And the Central question of how much less CO2 overall encounter actually, there remain only guesswork. The scheme is run according to experts, although, is that Germany achieves its national targets for 2030 in terms of climate protection. But whether in Europe, the same amount of Emission allowances to be decommissioned and, therefore, actually, the atmosphere is relieved is unclear.

The government admits this openly. The certificates that are in accordance with the switching Off of the power plants is free, should be deleted, so as not to elsewhere in Europe, thus the release of CO2. "At the same time, the extent of such deletion can not be substantiated today", because the amount of the released certificates "in advance may not be the year, sharp estimates", - stated officially by the Ministry of economy. A part – an estimated 20 to 30 percent of the certificates are to be parked in the "market stability reserve" (MSR) and are therefore by 2030 from the market. How much reduction in CO2 emissions and therefore less certificates the shutdowns then bring really, to be clarified later two expert opinions. The government shut down, to little certificates that could be created in Germany, avoided CO2 in other EU countries.

This uncertainty about the actual climate benefits of the act, many environmental groups is a thorn in the eye. The FEDERAL government speaks of a "severe setback", Greenpeace stated that it "blame Germany", because it is goodbye to Western Europe, where the countries get off earlier from the coal. In General, the representatives of the environmental side of complain in the "coal Commission", the government had not implemented the decisions of the Commission for the reduction of CO2 enough. The platform for action "terrain" called for massive Protest: In may at the new coal-fired power plant 4 dates in August in the Rhineland.

"Favorable for business, expensive for taxpayers"

"The contribution of this exit law on climate protection is still not clear," says Brigitte Knopf, an expert of the Mercator Institute (MCC). To come: The actual coal exit only after 2030 – but then the certificates from the MSR Europe could come back on the market and for more emissions. Therefore, it is difficult to say now what amount is disclosed on certificates to a standstill.

However, all the experts expect that the EU's climate aims for 2030, aggravated and above all, the number of possible certificates in the emissions trading reduces. The likely result: The price increases, coal-fired power plants become unprofitable and go from the network. Then there would be shutdowns of the power plants, without that the firm would be compensated. The opt-out law provides that a total of 4.35 billion euros will be paid to compensation for the company. "If you rely on stronger EU targets for 2030, implemented through emissions trading, then the current compensation is difficult to explain," says button. "This is very favorable for the company and very expensive for the taxpayer."