Coal
Once governments announce a coal phase out they then need to set about implementing it which means confirming closure dates at plant level, and producing plans for a managed just transition away from coal.
This is one of the most comprehensive databases of Europe’s coal plants available. Use the Maps and Charts tabs to explore details about Europe’s worst emitting plants, the damage they do to people’s health, which countries have committed to 2030 phase outs and more.
This is one of the most comprehensive databases of Europe’s coal plants available. Use the Maps and Charts tabs to explore details about Europe’s worst emitting plants, the damage they do to people’s health, which countries have committed to 2030 phase outs and more.
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One of Poland’s oldest coal mines to close after 122 years
The Bielszowice coal mine is closing after 122 years of operation, reflecting the decline of Poland’s coal industry. The sector is growing more unprofitabile and undermining the country’s competitiveness, as coal production fell to its lowest level in 2024.
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Polish court dismisses appeals against Turow’s environmental permit
The Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw dismissed the appeals filed by environmental organisations and upheld the immediate enforceability of the 2020 environmental decision for the Turów mine. The decision allows PGE to extend the mine’s operating license until 2044, enabling continued mining that will degrade the environment and increase pollution.
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Germany’s coal phase-out likely to happen earlier in 2032
Germany’s coal phase-out is likely to occur earlier, driven by carbon price trends. Research from the Öko-Institut suggests rising CO2 prices could push coal out of the market as early as 2032. Refiring old coal plants in response to the Iran war’s energy market shock would distort investment signals and is unlikely to happen in practice. It’s also an ineffective way to cut costs.
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Italy delays coal exit until 2038
Italy’s dependence on gas leaves it exposed to price shocks from crises like the Iran war. In response, the government has decided to delay its coal phase-out to 2038. Italy’s coal capacity is limited, much of it is on standby or ageing, and reactivation would be costly and slow. The move is more political signaling than actual intention to bring coal back.
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Sev.en Energy coal plants receive early closure dates due to the loss of profitability
The Sev.en Energy coal plants, Počerady, Chvaletice, Kladno, owned by billionaire Pavel Tykač, will be shut down earlier than planned due to the lack of profitability.
*How the German coal exit translates to our countdown
Though the end date for coal is foreseen in 2038 only, the law does retire approximately 23 GW prior to 2030. For lignite plants, a plant-specific phaseout pathway exists, but for hard coal, the law does not explicitly state which plants shall retire when, as the closure pathway shall be defined through auctions first. In order to reflect that, according to the law, all but 8 GW of German hard coal capacity will retire by 2030, we made assumptions on which hard coal plants would retire before 2030 to align the hard coal closure path with our counter’s methodology, which only registers retirements when the exact coal plant is known.
In December 2020, a set of three hard coal plants that, according to our evaluation, were implicitly intended to retire after 2030 (mostly because of their young age), unexpectedly won in the first auction that determines hard coal retirements. As a result, we added it to the list of plants that are to retire by 2030 at the latest. At the same time, we did not assume that other plants are now set to retire later, i.e. after 2030, just to fulfill the intended phase-out pathway of the German law. Instead, the list of plants set to retire by 2030 grew by three. This leads to a new setup with less than the 8 GW of hard coal capacity that are described in the law will be left after 2030. In short: we anticipate a quicker phase-out of German hard coal capacity.
Despite RWE's announcement in 2022 that it plans to exit coal by 2030, the federal government has the authority to retain some of RWE's coal units as grid reserve beyond 2030. We have therefore not yet included the plants covered by RWE's announcement in the list of coal plants scheduled to retire by 2030 at the latest.
This is one of the most comprehensive databases of Europe’s coal plants available. Use the Maps and Charts tabs to explore details about Europe’s worst emitting plants, the damage they do to people’s health, which countries have committed to 2030 phase outs and more.