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