It is one of the central arguments for keeping the old nuclear power plants running during the energy crisis: climate protection.

If there is no gas and the nuclear power plants are shut down, then the coal-fired power plants will have to run longer instead.

Patrick Bernau

Responsible editor for economy and "value" of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Economics Minister Habeck only announced the reactivation of lignite-fired power plants last week.

They emit enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which is bad for the climate.

We'd rather take the nuclear power plants!

The argument makes sense right away.

But it's not correct, at least not in this form.

And that is due to European climate protection and its most important instrument: emissions trading.

Roughly speaking, it works like this: The European Union has defined how much CO2 industry and power plants in the EU are allowed to emit – and less and less, by 2030 emissions should have fallen by 61 percent.

There is a certificate for every tonne of emissions.

Some of them are auctioned off, some are given away to the companies.

Those who avoid emissions can sell the certificate.

If you want to emit additional emissions, you can buy certificates.

If a company does not have a certificate, it must not emit any CO2 either.

Otherwise, it will have to pay a penalty, which is more expensive than a certificate, but will soon have to be raised,

Coal-fired power plants do not produce higher emissions

This system ensures that the defined emission limit is adhered to in any case.

In the past ten years, industry and power generation have even exceeded their savings target every year - so much so that the EU has started to reduce the number of certificates, some of which are to come back onto the market in times of crisis.

And who will stop emitting emissions?

The price regulates that.

At some point it will be too expensive for individual companies.

Either more climate-friendly technologies are then worthwhile – or the companies stop producing.

In recent years, the certificate price has risen to more than 80 euros.

For example, the CO2 certificates played a role in the fact that the controversial Moorburg coal-fired power plant was shut down a year ago.

Coal power had become expensive.

No additional CO2 certificates will be issued for the energy crisis, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

At most, part of the reserve certificates will be reused.

This means that the EU does not emit more CO2 than planned in emissions trading, regardless of which power plants are running in Germany.

No matter how harmful coal-fired power plants are to the climate, they ultimately do not lead to higher emissions than the more climate-friendly nuclear power.

However, one thing happens when more coal-fired power plants are connected to the grid: CO2 certificates become more expensive.

In the case of coal-fired power plants, the price increases can be enormous, especially since they are often old and dirty plants that were shut down early and are now coming back to the market.

Economics Veronika Grimm and a few colleagues have just rolled over the fact that with permanently higher gas prices, the additional coal electricity could increase the certificate price to up to 200 euros per tonne by 2030 if the emission targets are actually enforced in this way - more than double the current price.

Then electricity would also be more expensive, and some other industries would have to forego emissions:

either with investments in more climate-friendly technology or with production cessation and corresponding redundancies.

Who it would hit, nobody knows today.

It doesn't even have to be in Germany: emissions trading works throughout the EU.

Car traffic is also subject to emissions trading

But Grimm doubts whether politics can keep up with such high prices.

"There would be heated discussions about emissions trading." She suspects that at the end of all the debates, governments would auction off additional emission certificates in such a situation.

If that were to happen, coal-fired power plants would actually increase the European Union's CO2 emissions.

Incidentally, there are similar effects on flights within Europe.

They are also subject to emissions trading.

Although flying also has other climate effects than pure CO2 emissions, flights within Europe do not actually increase them.

In the next few years, car traffic will also be subject to an emissions trading system, first in Germany and then throughout the EU.

A speed limit on the motorway will then no longer prevent any CO2 emissions.

However, the CO2 emissions in these two areas are not so great that the certificate price would be influenced so much.