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From the perspective of the Greens, the key decision of the state government for coal production in the Rhenish Revier is “a document of missed opportunities”.
The state government decided on Tuesday (March 22nd) that the future of five villages, the preservation of which the initiatives are demanding, will not be decided until the end of 2026.
The Hambach Forest at the Hambach opencast mine, the symbol of the protests against opencast mining, is to be preserved.
Postponing the decision on the future of five villages on the edge of the Garzweiler open-cast lignite mine to the end of 2026 is nothing more than holding off the affected residents, criticized Green parliamentary leader Verena Schäffer on Thursday (March 25) in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament.
In fact, only the interests of the energy company RWE were taken into account.
The FDP rejected that.
SPD dissatisfied with the decision
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NRW Economics Minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) emphasized that, for the first time, a mining company would be required to present a concept for adequate protection against subsequent mining costs.
The SPD opposition, however, misses the commitment.
In principle, however, she was much more satisfied with the lead decision than the Greens and sees many of her positions taken into account.
The SPD MP Stefan Kämmerling, like the CDU MP Romina Plonsker, appealed to the Greens not to stir up uncertainty and not to “keep pouring fuel into the fire”.
Now it is a matter of jointly leading the energy transition in the Rheinische Revier to success.
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Pinkwart presented the main features of the guiding decision to the state parliament.
15,000 jobs are directly and indirectly dependent on lignite, said Pinkwart.
Even before these jobs disappeared, the state government was working on setting the course for a fresh start.
New jobs in future industries
The minister said that the loss of jobs would be compensated for until the 1930s.
“I am quite sure we will surpass it.” By the end of the decade, more than 6000 new jobs would be created in future industries such as bio and circular economy as well as in the field of new energies.
The AfD opposition, on the other hand, expects high job losses and a threat to security of supply from the exit from coal-fired power generation.
"Your key decision is a milestone towards the blackout," said AfD MP Christian Loose.
The FDP MP Jörn Freynick, however, sees the Rhenish Revier in the process of becoming a climate-friendly model region, "which will be unparalleled in Europe".