German energy giant RWE said on Tuesday that it will phase out the burning of coal by 2030, saving 280 million metric tons of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.
The decision will accelerate the closure of some of Europe's most polluting power plants and a vast lignite strip mine in the west of the country.
Resident of several villages and farms west of Cologne near the Garzweiler mine will no longer face eviction. The exception is Luetzerath, a hamlet that has been the focus of protests by environmentalists and which will now need to be cleared to extract more coal in the short-term.
The government argues this is necessary to ensure energy security amid the fallout of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
The announcement on Tuesday boosts the German government's efforts to bring forward the deadline for coal use by eight years from 2038 as part of the country's goal of ending its greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
