"We have developed a proposal that aims at something we need anyway – a capacity reserve in the electricity market for the possibility that at some point not enough electricity is available in the wake of the Energiewende (energy transition), which we will now fill with lignite," Gabriel told the ARD public TV channel.
A series of climate protection measures in the energy sector is expected to shave an additional 22 million tonnes from Germany's CO2 emissions to ensure the country meets its 2020 climate targets, replacing Gabriel's earlier plan for a climate levy on coal or lignite-fired generation.
