Energy - Critique on Coal Sequential Costs - Course Change Demanded
Before the state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg, several civil society and environmental political organizations are pushing for a course correction in the handling of brown coal aftermath costs in Eastern Germany. In a joint statement, they demand a transparent and ecologically sustainable preventive politics, ensuring that mining companies LEAG and MIBRAG fulfill their financial responsibilities.
Privatized profits, socialized costs?
"We must not allow costs to be socialized and profits to be privatized," wrote the New Economy Concept. LEAG plans to announce a restructuring in June, aiming to isolate the brown coal division. "This step fuels concerns about a planned insolvency of the brown coal division as a 'Bad Bank' and a shift of long-term costs to public coffers."
The chairman of the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), Felix Ekardt, demanded "transparent and insolvency-proof security measures, upholding the polluter-pays principle, and holding LEAG and MIBRAG accountable."
Secrecy surrounding aftercosts
Greenpeace also warned of a "secrecy surrounding the aftercosts of brown coal rehabilitation." "The complex corporate structures of LEAG's owner and financial oligarch Daniel Kretinsky raise concerns that the billion-dollar rehabilitation of brown coal mines will ultimately fall on taxpayers," said energy expert Karsten Smid.
The statement was signed by several organizations - among them the Greens League, Greenpeace, and the BUND.
- The push for a course change in brown coal handling also extends to the upcoming state election in Leipzig, a city in Eastern Germany's Saxony state.
- Finances remain a significant concern as the environmental organizations argue against privatizing profits and socializing the costs of brown coal aftermath.
- The state election in Brandenburg, neighboring Saxony, will also be influenced by this issue, as brown coal mining is prevalent in both regions.
- There are concerns about the environment as well, with the organizations calling for a shift towards sustainable energy sources instead of relying excessively on brown coal.
- The bundle of responsibilities, including financial and environmental obligations, could significantly impact the future of the mining companies and the overall policy in Eastern Germany.
