Coal production in the EU fell by 24% in 2019 in favour of natural gas and renewables, according to a report published on Wednesday 5 February by Sandbag and Agora Energiewende, two think tanks on climate issues.
According to the report drafted by the two organisations, this has led to a record 12% drop in CO2 emissions from the EU’s energy sector in 2019.
Half of the decrease in coal production was replaced by natural gas (+12%) and the other half by renewable energies, particularly wind (+14%) and solar (+7%), thanks to lower costs related to these energy sources.
It is the increase in CO2 prices under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) that has boosted the competitiveness of gas over coal production, the authors of the report explain.
According to them, this downward trend in coal will continue under the European Green Deal. “Greece and Hungary both made commitments in 2019 to phase out coal, bringing the total number of Member States phasing out coal to 15. Only Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia are yet to start”, the report notes.
Record year for renewables. Continuing their rise, renewable energies have reached a new record by supplying 34.6% of the EU’s electricity in 2019.
For the first time, wind and solar power plants provided more electricity than all coal-fired power plants combined, accounting for 18% of the EU’s electricity in 2019, the report also points out.
Despite these developments, the EU is still lagging behind its target of increasing the share of renewables in its energy mix to 20% by 2020. According to the latest figures published by Eurostat, the share for 2018 was 18% (see EUROPE 12410/17).
To consult the report: http://bit.ly/2H2HOBD (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)