Together, they helped feed the Ruhr valley’s hungry steel mills until imports of cheaper, foreign coal made Germany’s “black gold” lose its sheen. According to government figures, Germany’s coal mining industry received more than 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in federal funds since 1998 and is slated to get another 2.7 billion euros through 2022. The end of deep-shaft mining is seen as a test for the planned closure of open-cast lignite, or brown coal, mines that still operate in Germany. Lignite is considered even dirtier than black coal but remains relatively cheap to extract, even in Germany. More than 400 coal mining regions around the world will face similar pressures to shut down in the coming decades amid international efforts to curb global warming.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 22, 2018 10:32 UTC