Some critics have pointed out that the restart of coal power in many EU countries may delay the deadline of their previous coal withdrawal commitments, which is called "hypocrisy". However, for many EU countries, dealing with the energy issues this winter is the most important th

Recently, after Russia announced that it would reduce the supply of natural gas to the European Union, many EU countries announced the restart of coal power generation to cope with the risk of natural gas shortages this winter.

's move attracted criticism from many parties. Some critics have pointed out that the restart of coal power in many EU countries may delay the deadline of their previous coal withdrawal commitments, which is called "hypocrisy". However, for many EU countries, dealing with the energy issues this winter is the most important thing at the moment, and climate issues are only Can temporarily take second place.

Many EU countries have restarted coal power generation

Recently, many EU countries have restarted coal power generation that they had previously planned to phase out.

Germany was the first to adopt coal power generation measures. According to US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), German Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economics and Climate Action Robert Habeck said on June 19 that it would respond to the reduction in Russian gas supply by allowing more coal power generation.

On June 23, local time, Mannheim, Germany, the large coal-fired power plant on the other side of the Rhine River - Mannheim Electric Power Company, which is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in Germany. Picture/IC photo

On the same day, Austria also made a decision to allow coal power generation. The EU media "Euractiv" news network reported that Austrian Prime Minister Nehammer said at an emergency meeting held in response to the reduction of Russian gas supplies that although the country has higher natural gas reserves than other EU countries, it still The decision was made to restart the Merlach coal power plant, which was announced to be closed in April 2020, allowing it to continue operating during emergencies.

After Germany and Austria restarted coal power generation, Italy, the Netherlands , France and other countries also launched similar measures. Comprehensive Reuters and Dutch News Network reported that the Italian government plans to purchase coal and increase thermal power generation when necessary. The Dutch cabinet also decided to lift restrictions on coal-fired power generation from 2002 to 2024. In addition, the French Ministry of Energy announced the restart of coal-fired power plants that had just been shut down at the end of March this year.

After imposing sanctions on Russia, many EU countries have fallen into an energy crisis.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia and launched a plan to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas. On March 8, 2022, the European Commission "REPowerEU" plan gave a timetable: it will reduce Russian natural gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022, and completely "decouple" from Russian natural gas by 2030.

However, before the EU countries could complete their goal of reducing Russian gas supply, Russia proposed to reduce the supply of natural gas to EU countries.

html On June 19, Gazprom said that because some technical equipment sent to Germany's Siemens for maintenance had not yet been returned, it would reduce the amount of gas supplied to the EU via the "Nord Stream-1" natural gas pipeline. Reuters reported that gas transmission volume has now dropped to 40% of usual levels.

This has triggered concerns among EU countries that Russia may further reduce natural gas supplies this winter. Russia is an important natural gas supplier to EU countries. The reduction in its natural gas supply will increase the risk of natural gas shortages in EU countries this winter, and winter heating may become a problem.

In this context, EU countries decided to restart coal power generation. As Europe's largest economy, Germany said in a statement on June 19: "In order to reduce natural gas consumption, natural gas power generation will be reduced and coal power generation must be increased instead."

In fact, many EU countries also want to bypass Russia is looking for other ways to secure natural gas supplies this winter. For example, improving natural gas storage. On June 27, local time, the European Union Council approved new regulations requiring member states’ natural gas inventories to reach at least 80% of their gas storage capacity before winter. Another example is the search for natural gas all over the world. On June 15, Israel agreed to export natural gas to the European Union via Egypt , while the United States promised the European Union to transport liquefied natural gas ...

On June 15, local time, Cairo, Egypt, at a regional energy conference , Israel signed a natural gas trade agreement with the European Union.Picture/IC photo

However, compared with Russia’s gas supply volume of approximately 155 billion cubic meters to Europe in 2021, these short-term measures will not be able to fill such a huge gap for the time being. In addition, many EU countries face infrastructure difficulties in purchasing LNG. Taking Germany as an example, Germany has insufficient facilities to receive LNG.

There are challenges in trying to ensure the supply of natural gas. Many EU countries have also thought about other ways, such as using renewable energy. The European Commission's "REPowerEU" plan also emphasized that by 2030, the EU is expected to add 480 million kilowatts of wind turbines and 420 million kilowatts. The photovoltaic installed capacity, coupled with the development of hydrogen energy , is expected to replace 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas demand. However, water cannot quench the thirst of the near future. The energy supply this winter needs to be solved urgently, and the development of renewable energy still needs to overcome energy storage and other problems. problem.

Foreign media criticized the move as "hypocritical"

Due to the resumption of coal power generation, many EU countries need to import more coal, and the EU announced measures to embargo Russian coal in April this year, so it turned its attention to South Africa, Australia, Indonesia and other places, which has intensified the shortage in the global coal market and pushed up the international coal prices that were already at a high level.

Faced with high coal prices, many EU countries still insist on looking for other importing countries of coal energy in order to get rid of their energy dependence on Russia. The "Jakarta Post" reported that some EU countries have contacted Indonesian coal producers to discuss purchasing coal, and Germany has placed a large order of 150 million to Indonesia.

As many EU countries are searching for coal all over the world, there are also voices criticizing the above-mentioned countries for restarting coal power generation.

The criticism mainly points to the fact that the restart of coal power in many EU countries runs counter to their carbon reduction commitments. Indian satellite news channel commented that many EU countries are indeed solving energy supply problems, but they are burning more coal in the process. Isn't this hypocritical?

On June 26, local time, the G7 summit was held in Bavaria, Germany. Climate protection was one of the important topics. Picture/IC photo

Previously, in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, many EU countries have committed to phasing out coal in accordance with the schedule. According to information from The Powering Past Coal Alliance, Italy has committed to phasing out coal by 2025, the Netherlands has committed to phasing out coal by 2030, and Germany has also committed to phasing out coal energy by 2038...

This time, coal power generation will be restarted, It will obviously affect many EU countries' ability to fulfill their commitments to phase out coal. Frans Timmermans, head of climate affairs at the European Commission, also said that as the EU decides to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy, the actual time for some countries to withdraw from coal may be delayed than originally planned.

In this regard, Makarov from the NGO "Climate Action Network" is worried that restarting coal-fired power generation will not be conducive to combating climate change. "Since coal is the energy source with the largest greenhouse gas emissions and the most serious pollution, this move will poses a huge risk to the fight against climate change.” European Commission President von der Leyen also warned that member states should not regress to the stage of returning to the use of "dirty fossil fuels" (coal).

However, the US media morningbrew analyzed that although many EU countries are working hard to ensure that restarting coal power is a short-term measure, one thing needs to be pointed out. For many EU countries, ensuring energy supply is still the first priority, and climate issues can only be temporarily ranked. Secondly.

Beijing News reporter Zhu Yuehong

editor Chen Jing proofreader Wu Xingfa