Partially inspired by Germany’s version, the Czech Coal Commission met for the first time earlier this summer. Though it’s creation was largely driven by the mass student protests that have fundamentally transformed the Czech debate on climate policy, only two of its nineteen members are from environmental organizations. With its final report due in less than a year, it’s still unclear if the commission will decide upon a coal phase out date or a surge in renewables instead of new nuclear power. To learn more, Klára Schovánková, head of the ecology program at Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Prague office, interviewed Coal Commission member, Jiří Koželouh, who also heads the energy program at Hnutí Duha, Friends of the Earth Czech Republic. Klára Schovánková: The Czech Coal Commission is scheduled to meet through September 2020. What are the commission’s objectives? The commission should come up with a specific date for a coal phase out, although this goal is not directly stated in its bylaws. Its tasks are not as clearly defined at the outset as those of its … Continue reading The Czech Coal Commission: When Will the Heart of Europe Stop Fouling the Air?