According to the draft national energy and climate plan of the member states, climate sports organizations CANeurope and Sandbag said on Wednesday that the EU's coal-fired installed capacity will drop 58% from the current 143 GW to 60 GW by 2030.
Although eight member states have explicitly promised to phase out coal during the NECP period (2021-2030), 11 members said that there has been little or no reduction in coal production capacity from the 2019 level.
“Many members who have not planned to withdraw from coal have benefited from various EU energy transformation support programs and are requesting additional funding,” the organization said.
By 2030, the remaining surplus coal power capacity of the EU is concentrated in six EU countries: Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece.
According to the report, “the European Commission must ensure that the EU's support for a fair transition in the coal region depends on the credible and strong commitment of the member states to transform energy.”
EU governance regulations were passed in 2018 to ensure the EU's 2030 energy and climate goals, and NECP is a key tool for regulation.
The EU will make recommendations to member states that they believe need to take more steps to help achieve EU goals by June 30. Member States then submit the final NECP by the end of 2019.
In 2018, European coal-fired power plants released 625 million tons of carbon dioxide, accounting for nearly 15% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions. The EU road transport sector accounts for 21% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the climate analysis of the German Institute of Climate Science and Policy, in order to fulfill the "Paris Agreement" and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, EU countries need to stop coal-fired power generation by 2030.
