In light of dwindling gas‑storage levels and rising imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, State Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has urged a greater reliance on domestic brown coal.
“We have a goal that is absolutely right – we want to cut CO₂. But it must also work economically and socially” he told the “Tagesspiegel”. He said that, besides diversifying LNG imports, brown coal should again receive larger attention. “We need an unvarnished look at our energy policy” he added.
Kretschmer reminded that the decision to phase out brown‑coal power had originally been coupled with the construction of gas-fired plants, because gas emits only half as much CO₂ as local brown coal. “The path we set for the energy transition has changed now that Russian gas is no longer available” he said, adding that LNG has a climate impact similar to domestic brown coal.
Consequently, he calls for suspending the CO₂ price on brown coal to keep it competitive. “It is nonsense, from my point of view, to heavily tax this fuel now with CO₂ levies while at the same time favouring LNG, which has a comparable climate effect and has to be transported from abroad” he said. He stresses that brown‑coal power makes the country independent from imports, preserves jobs, and utilises existing infrastructure. “We are building gas turbines on top of old coal plants without gaining climate benefits. We need to discuss this critically, otherwise we harm our economy” Kretschmer concluded.