Berlin (AFP)

The German government promised Thursday 4.35 billion euros in compensation to the operators of coal-fired power plants as part of the abandonment of this highly polluting ore by 2038 at the latest, according to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.

"This will represent 2.6 billion euros for the complexes in western Germany and 1.75 billion in the east", an amount spread "over fifteen years after the closings", detailed the Minister for the Press.

The bill may not be final, since Olaf Scholz has for the time being mentioned only the power stations which must close "in the 2020s", not to mention the ultimate shutdowns in the 2030s.

At a meeting that continued late into the night, the state and four mining regions agreed on a timetable for closing mines and power plants, but it has yet to be submitted to operators before being made public.

As announced a year ago, Germany aims to abandon coal by 2038 at the latest, but could "advance by three years" this deadline to target 2035, depending on the balance sheets of stages carried out in 2026 and 2029.

The agreement also provides for the end of operating permits for the millennial forest of Hambach, in western Germany, threatened by the extension of a lignite mine, which has become, over the years, the symbol of the fight against coal in the country.

To implement this agreement, the federal government plans to table a bill "during the month of January", and counts on its adoption "by the end of the first half of 2020".

In the mining regions affected by the closure of power plants and coal mines, the State plans to establish a "compensation fund" for "employees" in the sector, aid which could be paid "until 2043 ".

Total financial assistance of 40 billion euros will also be granted to the four signatory states to the agreement until 2038, in accordance with a bill adopted in May 2019.

The abandonment by Germany of coal, very polluting but cheap energy, at the origin of its industrial development, is complicated by the decision taken in 2011 to leave nuclear power by 2022.

Despite the rise of renewable energy, intermittent and difficult to store and transport, the leading European economy still draws more than a third of its electricity from coal and lignite.

In a plan adopted in December under pressure from citizen mobilizations for the climate, Germany has set itself the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to their 1990 levels , when it is already guaranteed to miss its climate targets for 2020.

© 2020 AFP