WHAT CAN AUSTRALIA LEARN FROM GERMANY'S COAL TRANSITION?
WHY DID IT HAPPEN?
* The last black coal mine in Germany was shut in 2018 for economic reasons.
* Brown coal mines and power plants will be phased out by 2038 for climate change reasons.
* Germany has a target to reduce emissions by 55 per cent by 2030, and for 80-95 per cent by 2050
WHAT IS AUSTRALIA'S ATTITUDE TO COAL?
* Australia recently approved the new Adani Carmichael mine and has no plans to phase out coal power.
* Australia has committed to an emissions reduction of 26-28 per cent by 2030.
WHAT WAS SUCCESSFUL ABOUT GERMANY'S TRANSITION OUT OF BLACK COAL?
* 80,000 workers were redeployed, reskilled, or given good pension deals with zero forced redundancies since 2000.
* Unions and employers worked together to smooth the transition.
* It happened over a long time period to allow adjustment.
* All levels of government worked together to provide support to restructure in the region.
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES FOR GERMANY'S BROWN COAL EXIT?
* Germany has the biggest brown coal industry in the world with 20,000 workers to transition.
* The industry still wants to relocate entire villages to dig coal before the exit deadline.
* The transition out of the industry is estimated to cost EUR40 billion ($A64.7 billion).
* The distribution of this money is yet to be determined.
* The electricity network needs updating to handle supply from decentralised sources.
