Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019

In the first half of 2019, EU coal generation fell by 19%, driven by the growth of wind and solar power, a shift toward fossil gas due to rising carbon prices, and specific plant closures. Germany experienced the largest absolute decline, while eastern European countries saw smaller reductions due to slower renewable energy deployment. The report argues that while carbon pricing has made coal less profitable, further declines require accelerated plant closures and increased investment in clean energy and grid infrastructure to ensure a full transition.

• Coal generation in the EU decreased by 19% during the first half of 2019, with the decline occurring in nearly every coal-burning nation. This trend, if sustained, is projected to lower CO2 emissions by 65 million tonnes and reduce the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5% compared to the previous year.
• The decline in coal was split equally between replacement by renewable energy and a switch to fossil gas. Specifically, coal generation fell by approximately 50TWh, while wind and solar generation rose by 30TWh and gas generation rose by 30TWh.
• Western European countries experienced significant percentage drops in coal use, ranging from 22% in Germany to 79% in Ireland. Germany had the largest absolute decrease, though it still accounted for 35% of the EU's coal generation in the first half of 2019.
• Eastern European countries saw smaller declines in coal generation because of very low wind and solar deployment. In 2018, only 5% of the EU's total wind and solar installations occurred in eastern Europe; for example, Poland installed only 39MW, Czechia 26MW, Romania 5MW, and Bulgaria 3MW out of 17,000MW installed across Europe.
• Rising carbon prices, approaching €30 per tonne, shifted the economics of power generation from coal to gas and clean energy. This caused lignite plant profitability to collapse in 2019, with the report estimating that very few, if any, lignite plants covered their fixed costs in the first half of the year.
• The rate of physical plant closures remains slow, with only 3% of coal plants closing in 2018. Most closures were concentrated in the UK and Germany, including mandated closures of German lignite units at Jaenschwalde and Niederaussem, which reduced generation by 4TWh.

APA

Jones, D. (2019). Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/2019-EU-Coal-Report.pdf

Chicago

Jones, Dave. Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019. Ember, 2019. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/2019-EU-Coal-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Dave |title=Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019 |publisher=Ember |date=July 2019 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/2019-EU-Coal-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2019europes, author = {Jones, Dave}, title = {{Europe’s great coal collapse of 2019}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/2019-EU-Coal-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }