State Aid Decision SA.42536 - (DE) Closure of German lignite-fired power plants

ClientEarth informs the European Commission that Germany risks failing to achieve the climate objectives of its 'lignite reserve' measure, which was approved under State Aid Decision SA.42536. The measure aimed to reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5 million tonnes by 2020 through the mothballing and closure of lignite-fired power plant blocks in exchange for EUR 1.6 billion in compensation. ClientEarth notes that the German government missed two legal deadlines: the June 2018 deadline for assessing CO2 savings and the December 31, 2018, deadline for agreeing on additional measures. Citing a draft Climate Protection Report 2018, the letter states that preliminary assessments suggest the measure will only save approximately 11.5 million tonnes of CO2, leaving a gap of one million tonnes.

• The German 'lignite reserve' measure, designed to reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5 million tonnes by 2020, is projected to fall short by approximately 1 million tonnes, with preliminary assessments estimating savings of only 11.5 million tonnes.
• The German government failed to meet two statutory deadlines: the June 2018 deadline for calculating CO2 savings and the December 31, 2018, deadline for implementing additional measures to ensure targets are met.
• The European Commission's approval of EUR 1.6 billion in compensation for closing lignite plants (Decision SA.42536) was based on the measure's environmental merits and the procedural safeguards in Section 13g(8) of the Energy Act, which the German government is currently not following.

APA

Ott, H. (2019). State Aid Decision SA.42536 - (DE) Closure of German lignite-fired power plants. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/nz2ir2lq/letter-to-european-commission-on-german-lignite-reserve-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

Ott, Hermann. State Aid Decision SA.42536 - (DE) Closure of German lignite-fired power plants. ClientEarth, 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/nz2ir2lq/letter-to-european-commission-on-german-lignite-reserve-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Ott |first1=Hermann |title=State Aid Decision SA.42536 - (DE) Closure of German lignite-fired power plants |publisher=ClientEarth |date=23 January 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/nz2ir2lq/letter-to-european-commission-on-german-lignite-reserve-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ott2019state, author = {Ott, Hermann}, title = {{State Aid Decision SA.42536 - (DE) Closure of German lignite-fired power plants}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/nz2ir2lq/letter-to-european-commission-on-german-lignite-reserve-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }