BETD Side Event "Is coal coming to an end?"

In a virtual panel discussion, representatives from five countries discussed options of a coal phase-out and exchanged views on challenges and opportunities of the energy transition. 

In light of the international ambitions to stop climate change and reduce coal combustion, five high-level panelists from yet coal-dependent countries discussed possibilities to reduce the role of coal in the respective energy systems. The discussion was opened by Andreas Feicht, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. He was joined on the panel by Nasrul Hamid, State Minister of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh, Francisco Javier López, State Secretary of the Chilean Energy Ministry, Vivek Kumar Dewangan, Deputy State Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Power, and Valentyna Moskalenko, Adviser to the Ukrainian Prime Minister.

During the event, the speakers took a stand to different opinions expressed by stakeholders from civil society, local policy and business that were shown in short video clips. More than 120 participants followed the discussion and contributed questions on coal phase-out from different perspectives. The two-hour event provided insights into the ambitions towards decarbonization in the represented countries and showed innovative approaches towards a just transition.

The panel discussion was moderated by Sandra Retzer, Head of Department Funding Programmes at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The event was conducted by the Energy Partnership Chile-Alemania, the Indo-German Energy Forum IGEF and the German-Ukrainian Energy Partnership and took place as an official side event of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021.

Press contact: Ms. Olha Zhuk (zhuk@dena.de)