European coal power output sees unprecedented decline

• 4 years ago (2019-11-25)
• David Flin

Coal 274

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According to data published by the climate analysis website Carbon Brief , global electricity production from coal is on track to fall by around 3 per cent globally in 2019. If this happens, it will be the largest drop on record. Western European countries and the USA have been responsible for much of the fall.

Carbon Brief said that the European Union has seen a 19 per cent year-on-year decline in coal-fired power generation in the first half of 2019. The trend is accelerating, and Carbon Brief estimates that the EU will see a fall of 23 per cent over the whole of 2019.

The analysis was based on monthly electricity sector data from around the world for the first 7-10 months of the year, depending on data availability in each country. The analysis concluded that:

• Record falls took place in developed countries, including Germany and the rest of the EU as a whole, USA, and South Korea.
• There has been a sharp turnaround in India, where coal use in power generation is set to fall for the first time in three decades.
• A flattening of generation growth in China.
• Continuing increases in south-east Asia.

The record drop raises the prospect of slowing total global CO2 emissions growth in 2019. Nevertheless, global coal use and emissions remain far higher than the level required to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.