Germany yesterday closed one of its last two black coal mines, ending an industry that laid the foundations for the country’s industrial revolution and its post-World War II economic recovery.
Miners planned to hand German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier a symbolic last lump of coal hauled up from 1,200m below ground at the Prosper-Haniel mine in the western city of Bottrop. Another mine, in the town of Ibbenbueren about 100km to the north, is to be formally closed next week.
Black coal mines once dominated the surrounding Ruhr region, employing up to 500,000 people at their peak in the 1950s, but have since been in steady decline, surviving only thanks to government subsidies.
The end of those deep-shaft mines is seen as a test for the planned closure of open-cast lignite, or brown coal, mines still operating in Germany.
The country generates almost two-fifths of its electricity from burning coal, which experts say cannot continue if Germany wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with international climate change agreements.
However, other sources of energy might not be sufficient, especially as Germany plans to shut down its nuclear plants by 2022.
A government-appointed panel is to deliver a report in February laying out proposals for the gradual phasing out of lignite mines.
Politicians, environmentalists and miners’ union representatives are to propose ways in which tens of thousands of people whose jobs still depend on the coal industry can find new work.
One of the panel’s members said the hundreds of billions in subsidies paid to prop up black coal in Germany were a cautionary tale.
“This time we cannot do it incrementally, in a piecemeal way,” Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told reporters.
With about 420 coal mining regions around the globe facing similar pressure to shut down in the next few years, Schellnhuber said Germany could become a pioneer in the transition away from fossil fuels.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS