Germany's commitment to phase out coal by 2030 is facing growing doubts, as the largest economy in Europe has become vulnerable to energy crisis since it cut Russian gas due to the conflict in Ukraine last year.

The coal-exiting backer, along 14 other countries, planned to propose stoppage of new coal-fired power plants and clampdown on polluting existing plants during the upcoming UN climate summit in Dubai.

Coal currently accounts for around a third of Germany's electricity generation. The country had vowed to eliminate coal from its energy mix by 2030, making up the gap by raising the share of renewables to 80%.

Earlier this month, the finance minister Christian Lindner questioned the government's aim to end coal use by 2030, VOA reported on November 1.

"Until it is clear that energy is available and affordable, we should end dreams of phasing out electricity from coal in 2030," Lindner was cited as saying. "Now is not the time to shut down power plants."

Germany's energy security faced challenges when the Russia-Ukraine conflict kicked off. The country was forced to slash Russian natural gas and buy expensive LNG instead. Heavy cost incentivized power producers to switch to the cheaper alternative – coal.

The government brought mothballed coal plants back online to take the pressure off of gas-based electricity production, with the reactivated fleet available through March 2024.

German hard coal importers hope to extend the operating period, Reuters reported, citing the country's coal import association (VDKi).

The association noted the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Middle East make European and German consumers more vulnerable to energy supply disruptions. LNG supplies have become unstable.

Coal plants can also provide stable power on windless or sunless days when renewables falter, it said.

(Writing by Alex Guo  Editing by Harry Huo)
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