German plan to phase out coal would cost a cool $64 billion.

Berlin: Germany will spend tens of billions of dollars to end its use of coal power within two decades, if a plan agreed to by representatives of the power industry, environmental movement, miners and local interest groups becomes official policy.

Protesters hold a poster before the meeting of a panel
of experts on the exit of the use of coal in Germany on Friday.

The deal, hammered out on Saturday after more than 20 hours of intense, often fractious negotiating among a 28-member commission appointed last year by Chancellor Angela Merkel, would be one of the most significant energy transformations a nation has yet attempted in the face of climate change.

Read the story from The Age by Melissa Eddy - “German plan to phase out coal would cost a cool $64 billion.”