The German federal government has signed an agreement with Länder on the €40bn in support to ensure a just transition for coal regions. Brandenburg, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt will receive €14bn until 2038 for direct investments, while the federal government will provide another €26bn to implement further measures to strengthen locales economies. The law governing support payments for mining regions was adopted in July 2020.
In July 2020, the German coalition government has approved a €40bn compensation package for power utilities, which operate hard coal-fired power plants in the country and should shut them down by 2038 at the latest. Under the agreement, power utilities will benefit from compensations for switching their coal-fired power plants to gas, depending on the power plant's age and the conversion date, or for shutting them down by 2033.
The government also endorsed a €4.3bn compensation package for RWE, Uniper, EnBW, Vattenfall, Steag and LEAG, which operate lignite-fired power plants in the country. Before the contracting parties can sign, the Bundestag (lower house of the Parliament) must pass the coal exit law and approve the compensation package. Aid approval from the European Commission is also required.
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