The demand
In its election manifesto, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) demands that „on the way“ to phasing out coal, there can be „no further final shutdown of coal-fired power plants as long as no new gas-fired power plants“ have been built to replace them. According to a CDU/CSU parliamentary group discussion paper, „new controllable capacity“ will be needed in the future to ensure a reliable supply. The Green Minister for Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck, also questioned the coal phase-out by 2030 if there was insufficient capacity to meet demand. „For me, energy security always has absolute priority,“ Habeck said.