Executives from the European coal industry met in June at the annual meeting of the European Association for Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL) to discuss the industry\u2019s strategic direction against the backdrop of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement of December 2015 and the EU\u2019s related commitment to a 40\u2009% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Prior to the meeting, EURACOAL President, Dr. Wolfgang Cieslik, met with Corina Georgeta Popescu, Secretary of State at the Romanian Ministry of Energy, to discuss the current difficult situation in the European coal and lignite industry (Figure 1).<\/p>\n
EURACOAL members, including coal and lignite producers, coal importers and major coal users from 18 countries, face an unprecedented, six-year long market downturn\u00a0\u2013 reflecting a global crisis. The coal market is oversupplied and prices have slumped to levels not seen since 2003. Moreover, privileged feed-in tariffs for renewable energies have caused a collapse of wholesale electricity prices in the EU. Wholesale prices no longer cover the cost of any type of generation. Only those operating in regulated markets can contemplate investing for the future.<\/p>\n
The European Commission\u2019s \u201cRoad from Paris\u201d communication on signing the Paris Agreement states that the, \u201cEU\u2019s commitment to a clean energy transition is irreversible and non-negotiable\u201d (COM(2016) 110). Given this categorical political direction, coupled with a depressed market, the coal industry cannot survive in its current shape. In the end, there has to be again a fully functional market design which gives coal a profitable setting to run the necessary existing power plants and gives an opportunity for the new investments that will be needed to ensure continued grid stability. If not, then 300,000 jobs are at stake: men and women who work hard to provide 26\u2009% of all the EU\u2019s electricity, whatever the weather.<\/p>\n
The industry proposes to the European Commission three measures in response to the crisis:<\/p>\n
With coal, the EU\u2019s energy transition will be more affordable and more secure. Without coal, the EU risks its competitive position in a world that is not turning away from coal. Japan is e. g. currently constructing or planning 40 new coal-fired power plants, including two state-of-the-art units at the Kobe Steel Works near Kyoto. (EURACOAL)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Executives from the European coal industry met in June at the annual meeting of the European Association for Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL) to discuss the industry\u2019s strategic direction against the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-in-brief-issue_04_2016","tag-euracoal"],"yoast_head":"\n