On July 3rd, 2020, the Bundestag and Bundesrat approved the final version of the law setting the details for the country's coal phase-out. The document sets the rules for a progressive reduction of coal use by 2038 at the latest. It further approves an economic package to support coal regions affected by the measure.

One of the main components of the law is the Act on the Reduction and Termination of Coal-Fired Power Generation (Coal-Fired Power Generation Termination Act – KVbG). The KVbG was amended in December 2022 and enshrined the phase-out of lignite mining in the Rhenish coalfield by 2030 in law.

Law on the Reduction and Termination of Coal-Fired Power Generation (Kohleverstromungsbeendigungsgesetz - KVBG)

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KVbG - 2022 amendment

Amended/Updated

Germany

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

On July 3rd, 2020, the Bundestag and Bundesrat approved the final version of the law setting the details for the country's coal phase-out. The document sets the rules for a progressive reduction of coal use by 2038 at the latest. It further approves an economic package to support coal regions affected by the measure. One of the main components of the law is the Act on the Reduction and Termination of Coal-Fired Power Generation (Coal-Fired Power Generation Termination Act – KVbG). The KVbG was amended in December 2022 and enshrined the phase-out of lignite mining in the Rhenish coalfield by 2030 in law.