An excavator photographed at a lignite mine operated by RWE on April 8, 2022. RWE says it wants to be carbon neutral by 2040.
Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The chief financial officer of German energy firm RWE told CNBC Thursday that it will burn more coal in the short term — but insists its plans to be carbon neutral in the future remain in place.
Michael Muller’s comments come as European countries scramble to shore up energy supplies, as the war in Ukraine continues.
Russia was the biggest supplier of both petroleum oils and natural gas to the EU last year, according to Eurostat. It has significantly reduced flows of natural gas to Europe after Western nations imposed sanctions on the Kremlin as a result of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Germany — Europe’s largest economy — has decided to recommission some of its coal-fired power plants in order to compensate for its…
