Germany To Close Coal Power Plants By 2038
The German government has announced that the country will shut down all of its coal-fired power plants by 2038 in an attempt to move to cleaner energy. Currently, Germany gets 40% of its energy from coal-fired plants.
The move comes a few years after the German government decided to close down its nuclear power stations in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. Up to now, 12 of the country's 19 nuclear power stations have been shut down.
Being without nuclear energy and energy from coal-powered plants means that Germany will be relying heavily on renewable energy. Energy officials say that within the next two decades up to 80% of the country's energy needs could be coming from renewable sources. At the moment 40% are produced from green energy sources . Last year, renewable energy beat coal power for the first time .
Environmentalists in Germany have welcomed the announcement but stress that phasing out coal power does not come soon enough. They say that the new policy could make Germany a leader in the fight against climate change yet again. At the moment, Germany's coal-fired plants produce more carbon emissions than any other nation on the continent.
In addition to closing down all coal plants, the government has promised to give support to regions where people rely heavily on coal production for a living. Money will also be needed to help keep electricity prices for consumers down.
Words
- aftermath = the period of time after an event happened
- announce = to say officially ; in public
- attempt = try
- beat = to win against
- carbon emissions = gas or other substances that are sent into the air and produce greenhouse gases
- coal-fired = using coal to produce electricity
- consumer =people who buy a product
- currently = at the moment
- decade = ten years
- electricity = power that is carried by wires and cables and is used to give us light or heat or to make machines work
- energy needs = the amount of energy and electricity that a country needs
- environmentalist = person who cares about nature and the world around us
- government = the people who rule a country
- in addition = also
- nuclear power station = building in which electricity is produced by splitting atoms
- official = person in a high position in an organisation
- phase out = slowly stop using something
- policy = the government's way of dealing with a problem
- power plant = building in which electricity is produced
- rely heavily = need very much
- renewable energy = form of energy that can always be used and constantly replaces itself
- shut down = close
- source = place where something come from
- stress = point out
- support = money and other things a region needs
- welcome = to say that something is good; to be in favor of ...
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