logo
Are 'coal-free' countries really free? New data shows real consumption

Are 'coal-free' countries really free? New data shows real consumption

Euronews6 hours ago
Coal production and consumption in the EU have fallen to historic lows.
Production levels in 2024 dipped to 242 million tonnes, according to Eurostat figures. This marks a 12% dive compared to 2023, and a continuation of the downward trajectory seen in 2023.
Consumption too fell to a record low last year to just over 306 million tonnes, a historical decline reflected in the fading role of fuel in electricity generation, now down to 12% in the EU.
While most member states phased out all coal production, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia continue to extract the highly polluting brown coal.
Brown coal is the dirtiest and least efficient coal, as it's less "pure" than "black" or "hard" coal, and needs larger quantities to produce the same amount of power, thus being more polluting.
Consumption: Which EU countries still use brown coal?
When it comes to actual coal consumption, brown coal consumption is still twice as high as black coal (around 200 million tonnes vs 110 million tonnes).
A total of 11 member states — including Spain, Italy, Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Portugal — as well as Norway and Moldova, appear to have phased it out.
On the other hand, Germany is still burning large quantities — 92 million tonnes in 2024 — more than any other EU member and almost all countries bordering the EU.
When are Germany, Poland, Greece and others going coal-free?
Germany has planned to get rid of black coal by 2036 and of brown coal by 2038, while Poland will continue to run on that fuel until 2049.
Countries like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania proposed plans to end coal use in the 2030s, but so far without any legally binding decisions, according to the European Environment Agency. France, Italy and Spain could do so by 2030, the organisation says.
Greece might move even earlier, according to a new roadmap aiming to end coal energy production by 2028.
Athens is set to pour "billions of euros in coal-dependent areas to help them build back better – and greener", in a transition process supported by the World Bank.
Other countries in Europe have stopped using coal for electricity generation - including the UK, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Ireland, according to Beyond Fossil Fuels - though some might still be using it marginally for other purposes, like heating.
Russia's black coal supplies to EU wiped out after 2022 ban
The war in Ukraine brought a significant reshuffling among the EU's main coal suppliers.
There was a steep decline in Russian black coal imports, which plummeted by 98% between 2021 and 2023, as a consequence of the EU's ban on hard coal supplied by Moscow.
The latest Eurostat data available (2023) shows that 90% of the EU's hard coal imports originate from only five countries: Australia and the US (mostly), Colombia, South Africa, and Kazakhstan.
Around 67% of the EU's black coal is imported.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Russian transport minister found dead hours after being fired by Putin
Russian transport minister found dead hours after being fired by Putin

Euronews

time2 hours ago

  • Euronews

Russian transport minister found dead hours after being fired by Putin

Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead near Moscow on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him following massive disruptions of Russian civilian airspace caused by Ukrainian drone raids. According to Russian media reports, a gun was found near Starovoit's body. Reports also claim he died in an apparent suicide. However, no official information on the cause of death has been released at this time. Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin provided no specific details or reasons for the dismissal of Starovoit, who had served as the governor of Russia's Kursk region before being reappointed transport minister in May 2024. However, his firing came after almost 300 flights were grounded at major airports over the past weekend due to the latest Ukrainian drone raid. On Saturday and Sunday, 485 fights ended up getting cancelled, according to the Russian federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya. In total, from early morning on Saturday until Monday morning, some 1,900 flights were delayed due to what the agency referred to as 'airspace restrictions imposed on airports in central Russia.' Kremlin-controlled outlet Komersant reported that the disruptions cost the airlines over 200,000 euros. Ukraine's drone raids on Russia While Russia has intensified its aerial attacks against Ukrainian civilians and residential and energy infrastructure, Kyiv is targeting Russia's military sites and war infrastructure. On Saturday, Ukraine's military general staff said that Ukrainian forces struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia's Voronezh region. Borisoglebsk is believed to be the home base of Russia's Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets. The Kremlin reported that Russian air defence shot down eight Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow late on Sunday, out of a total of 90 UAVs overnight over Russian territory, the Black Sea and Russia-annexed Crimea. Most of them were downed over the border regions near Ukraine, but three were also destroyed over the Leningrad region, including the regional capital of St Petersburg, the ministry said on Telegram on Monday. Kyiv's drone campaign has already disrupted civilian air travel in Russia several times. At the beginning of May, just days before Moscow's Victory Day parade, Ukrainian drones caused massive disruption at Moscow's airports, with 350 flights affected.

(Un)orthodox intelligence ops: How Russia is using its churches abroad
(Un)orthodox intelligence ops: How Russia is using its churches abroad

Euronews

time3 hours ago

  • Euronews

(Un)orthodox intelligence ops: How Russia is using its churches abroad

Sweden has opened up a probe into a Russian Orthodox church in the town of Västerås over possible links to the Kremlin's hybrid warfare techniques. An investigation by outlet France24 revealed that the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God might be used for espionage. Located just 300 metres from Stockholm-Västerås Airport, it has drawn scrutiny from local authorities and security services over its ties with Russian intelligence. Sweden's domestic security agency, SAPO, believes the church is being used as a platform for intelligence gathering and other hostile activities. Strategic location of the Russian church in Sweden Stockholm-Västerås Airport, also known as Hässlö Flygplats, is a small international airport that until 1983 served as a base for the Swedish Air Force. Following Sweden's NATO membership in 2024, the airport became a strategic military hub, regularly hosting exercises for the alliance. The head of the control tower, Andreas Nyqvist, told France24 journalists that a Russian church being located this close to the airport is not a normal situation. 'Nothing is normal about a church that close to the airport," Nyqvist explained. Västerås also sits on the edge of Lake Mälaren – a strategically sensitive corridor that connects the Swedish heartland with the Baltic Sea – and several key bridges cross the important waterway here. SAPO previously attempted to halt the construction of the church, citing security risks. However, the project proceeded without regard for the prior regulations. The church's spire is 22 metres high, although the local zoning plan indicated it was not supposed to exceed 10 metres due to its proximity to sensitive infrastructure – the airport. Who is in charge of the Västerås church? When the Västerås church was consecrated in November 2023, the ceremony was attended by Russian and Belarusian diplomats. One of them, Vladimir Lyapin, has since been exposed as a Russian spy by Swedish investigative journalists. Two weeks later, SAPO issued a public warning that the Moscow Patriarchate in Sweden is supporting Russian intelligence operations and receiving significant state funding. Municipal authorities are now considering the unprecedented step of expropriating the building, citing national security concerns. Even more so with the attention being drawn to Father Pavel Makarenko, the parish priest at the church in Västerås. The investigation revealed that, for several years, on the sidelines of his religious duties, Makarenko served as the CEO of the Russian-owned import and export firm NC Nordic Control AB. That job and his corporate career came to an abrupt end in 2021, when a Stockholm district court convicted him of aggravated accounting fraud for footing fake bills for companies in Russia and Belarus. Makarenko, who denied the charges – and later lost an appeal – was handed a suspended six-month jail sentence, 160 hours of community service and a three-year business ban. Russian churches in Europe The Russian Orthodox Church may utilise its churches in Europe for intelligence activities, strategically positioning them near critical facilities, according to a report by the Molfar Institute, a Ukrainian company that provides open-source intelligence services. The OSINT agency conducted open-source research analysing 11 European countries, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The agency also specifically analysed the church in Västerås, claiming that its construction was financed by Rosatom, Russia's state atomic energy corporation. Notably, the Swedish Westinghouse electric factory, which produces nuclear fuel assemblies, is approximately 5 kilometres away from the Russian church. The Molfar investigation also geolocated Russian churches in Bryne, Oslo and Kirkenes in Norway. In Trondheim, for example, the Russian church is around 1 kilometre away from the Air Force Academy and less than 1 kilometre from a submarine bunker. In some countries, the authorities shut down Russian churches due to security concerns. In Finland, the Russian church in Turku was located critically close to the Coastal Fleet. The authorities shut it down in August 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2023 Bulgarian authorities expelled the head of the Russian church in the country over what they called a 'threat to national security'. Archimandrite Vasian, who headed the Russian Orthodox Church in the country, was accused of espionage***.***

EU-China tensions escalate over medical device trade restrictions
EU-China tensions escalate over medical device trade restrictions

Euronews

time3 hours ago

  • Euronews

EU-China tensions escalate over medical device trade restrictions

Beijing announced on Sunday that it will restrict government purchases of medical devices from the EU valued at over 45 million yuan (approximately €5.3 million) as a direct response to the European Commission's decision to limit Chinese firms' access to the bloc's public procurement market. Under the Commission's previous move last month, Chinese companies are barred from bidding on public contracts for medical devices in the EU single market exceeding €5 million. Additionally, winning bids must contain no more than 50% of components sourced from China. In a statement, China said it had 'no choice but to implement countermeasures". A spokesperson for China's ministry of commerce added that Beijing has repeatedly expressed, through bilateral dialogues, its willingness to address differences with the EU through dialogue, consultation, and bilateral procurement arrangements. 'Unfortunately, the EU has ignored China's goodwill and sincerity and continues to impose restrictive measures and build new protectionist barriers,' the statement read. This latest escalation follows Beijing's announcement last week of anti-dumping duties of up to 34.9% on European brandy imports for the next five years. The pattern of reciprocal trade actions continues to define the EU-China economic relationship. In recent weeks, China extended its anti-dumping investigation into EU pork imports by six months, while the EU imposed tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). These developments come at a sensitive time in EU-China relations, which are undergoing a cautious diplomatic reset. A key milestone in the evolving dialogue will be the upcoming EU-China Summit, scheduled to take place in Beijing in the second half of July 2025. Concerns from Europe MedTech Europe, the EU's medical devices industry association, expressed regret over China's latest decision, saying it further restricts access to the Chinese public procurement market. 'Measures of this nature risk deepening trade tensions and ultimately deny patients timely access to indispensable medical technologies,' the group said in a statement. 'We urge both the European Union and China to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve current challenges to market access and to uphold fair, predictable, and reciprocal trading conditions.' The European Chamber of Commerce in China echoed these concerns, warning that the announcement increases uncertainty for European businesses operating in the country. In particular, the lack of specificity in the new restrictions raises the risk that local authorities managing public tenders may enforce the measures in an overly stringent manner. This could exclude even highly localised European medical device manufacturers from bidding for contracts, according to the Chamber. For instance, although the Chinese government has indicated that European-invested enterprises in China will be exempt from the restrictions, the notice does not clarify what qualifies as a 'European-invested enterprise'. According to the European Chamber, it also remains unclear whether volume-based procurement tenders, which often exceed the threshold, will fall under the new rules.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store