Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Economics Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) has rejected calls for a coal phase-out in Saxony-Anhalt by 2030. "As Minister of Economics, I am still committed to phasing out coal in 2038 at the earliest," said the CDU politician to the German Press Agency on Thursday. He had spoken out in favor of this with regard to energy security even before the start of the Ukraine war. "That is binding for me."
The state chairmen of the Greens had pleaded this week for an earlier phase-out of lignite in Saxony-Anhalt. "The coal phase-out is definitely conceivable faster than 2038. We want to create the framework for a coal phase-out by 2030," said co-head of state Dennis Helmich. But the state government still has to do a lot for that. "If you don't consistently push ahead with the expansion of renewable energies, you'll torpedo that."
Co-Chairwoman Madeleine Linke had criticized Schulze and called for more commitment to economic development. "We need an economy minister who finally recognizes that structural change and transformation are a win for the country."
Schulze rejected the opposition's criticism. "Wanting to take an alternative path without being able to present realistic alternatives - that's not my understanding of politics. We rely on a healthy energy mix." Saxony-Anhalt is playing a pioneering role in the field of renewable energies. "However, a large part of the energy requirement within Saxony-Anhalt cannot be replaced by renewable energies in the short term. Certainly not gas that is used as a material."
The Bundestag and Bundesrat decided to phase out the burning of coal to generate electricity by 2038. However, the coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP in the federal government agreed in the coalition agreement that the coal phase-out should ideally take place by 2030. Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) had recently warned several times against questioning the coal compromise.
