Coal power plants emit a lot of CO₂, which is driving climate breakdown. The 30 dirtiest coal plants emit more than 50% CO₂ emissions from all of the EU’s coal plants. Of the ten largest emitters, seven are German lignite plants.

In 2016, air pollution from coal power plants in Europe caused an estimated 16,150 premature deaths. The 30 most toxic plants caused around half of all health impacts from coal.

Some plants have retired or announced they will do so since January 2016. Sometimes, plants don’t have closure dates but are located in countries, regions or cities that have announced to phase out coal. Those announcements have to be implemented so that every coal plant is given a closure date.

These plants don’t have retirement dates yet or retirement is scheduled for later than 2030. Europe Beyond Coal groups are working tirelessly to secure their closure by 2030 at the latest.

Despite dire economics and the threat to health and climate, there are still new coal power projects planned. Here is every project planned or under construction.

Air pollution is the most pressing environmental risk factor affecting our health, and coal is a major contributor to it. In 2016, air pollution from coal power plants in Europe (excl. Turkey) caused an estimated 16,150 premature deaths, a lot more preventable health problems, and huge costs to health systems and business through lost working days. Going beyond coal means saving lives and livelihoods.

Explore the health impacts caused by the coal plants running in your country and how much pollution your nearest power plant produces.

These are the 10 most polluting coal companies in Europe (in 2016). The biggest polluter is RWE, followed by EPH, PGE, ČEZ, Uniper, Endesa, Enea, Steag, ZE PAK and BEH (Bulgarian Energy Holding).

Click on the companies to see the modelled health impacts caused by them and where they operate their plants.

Coal plants in the EU are pumping far too much carbon dioxide into the air, heating our atmosphere. To contribute to keeping average global temperature rise to safe levels for humanity, Europe needs to phase out coal by 2030.

Which countries and plants are big emitters, and how do they compare to others?

In 2017, 15% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU came just from burning coal.To bring emissions down rapidly, coal is a crucial place to start.

Explore the map to see how addicted your country is to coal.

There are ten coal-free countries now in Europe and another thirteen have pledged to become coal-free by 2030 or earlier. This is encouraging, but we need more ambition to address public health and climate breakdown.

What is your government planning to do to ensure a fair, ambitious, and managed phaseout of coal?

Sometimes regions and cities don’t want to wait for their federal government to act - they start doing what they can.

Find out which subnational and municipal entities have committed to phasing out coal by 2030 or earlier.

Companies and financial institutions are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall, and are breaking their business links to coal.

While there is no company yet with the perfect coal policy, there are leaders and laggards in specific policy areas. Click on the companies to find out more.