Is the time for coal in Europe over?

Abstract

Coal is still a major energy source in Europe, accounting for approximately a quarter of electricity production. The production of electricity from coal is one of the main sources of emission of CO2, and depending on the type of coal burnt, whether this is anthracite or lignite, the grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced—the so-called carbon emission factor—vary enormously, with lignite being very highly polluting. In addition to this, coal power plants are also responsible for important emissions of NO2, SO2, and particulate matter, among others, which contribute significantly to air pollution and impact severely on human health. Emissions from coal power plants in Europe contribute significantly to the burden of disease from environmental pollution. More than 22 900 premature deaths could be attributed to emission from coal power stations, as well as 21 000 hospital admissions, 11 800 cases of chronic bronchitis in adults, and 51 700 cases of bronchitis in children. In addition, these emissions result in 23 502 800 restricted activity days and 6 575 800 work days lost. Why, despite the impact on health, is electricity still largely generated by the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal? In Europe, the use of coal for power generation shrank for the fifth successive year in 2017, while the use of renewables continues to grow, according to a recent report on Europe's power sector—the European Power Sector 2017. Coal dependence in Europe is not as strong as it is in China, the USA, Japan, and Australia and many countries such as Austria, Denmark, the UK, Austria, Italy, Finland, and France have decided to phase out coal use. Coal's share of Europe's total power generation fell to 20% last year, while the share from renewables increased to 30%. Despite this progress, however, almost 280 plants are still operating, more than 200 are over 30 years old, and too many are operating too close to or even in urban areas. Several European countries, such as Turkey and other eastern European countries, are still investing in new plants. Many countries continue to subsidise the coal industry not only at a national level, but also worldwide. Germany represents the main supporter of the coal industry in the European Union (EU); it provided 30 billion Euros to the coal industry between 1999 and 2011, and invests billion of Euros in projects worldwide. The EU is funding projects conducted by coal companies, and Poland is subsidising the coal industry heavily—from 1990 to 2012 it handed out 16·8 billion Euros in coal subsidies. One of the most important reasons to continue using coal is that its negative costs, known as external costs, are not internalised. The costs associated with burning coal should include investment and operational costs as well as external costs. These costs are paid for by individuals and include expenses such as medicines, consultations with specialists, hospital bills, and laboratory analyses. And until they are not included in energy prices, any comparison in terms of profitability between different technologies producing electricity will be unrealistic and distorted. Attention should be also paid to the fact that reducing the use of coal and fossil fuels must be seen by our economy as an opportunity for a more sustainable way of growth. In Europe, every year more and more energy produced by renewables is added to the grid with creation of more jobs as well. Thus, loss of workplaces in the coal industry will likely be offset by nationwide job creation in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, and retraining systems and employment initiatives for affected communities will be essential to overcome barriers to re-employment. In 2008, Europe was leading in terms of renewable energy investments, today it falls far behind other markets in terms of annual capacity additions. In 2019, the country that began the change in the renewable energy market will leave the EU, making it even harder for the remaining 26 countries to transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy market. The EU has already met its targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020. To maintain this progress, it will be mandatory for energy companies to internalise the external costs associated with burning of coal for the generation of electricity, in order to discourage the use of coal and for governments to invest more in cleaner projects that will help to phase out the use of coal and fossil fuels and in retraining strategies. Moving away from coal will have a beneficial effect for both human health and the economy.