Turkey, Ukraine and Western Balkan countries compete for top spot in coal power air pollution in Europe

This report by Ember analyzes air pollution from coal-fired power plants across Europe, identifying Turkey, Ukraine, and the Western Balkan countries as the primary sources of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM10). The analysis highlights a strong correlation between coal generation and pollutant emissions, noting that most of the most polluting plants are over 30 years old, though Turkey is an exception with some newer plants among the top polluters. The report argues that these countries should shift subsidies from dirty coal to their significant renewable energy potentials.

• Turkey and Ukraine are among the top three most polluting countries for all types of air pollution from coal power in Europe, followed by Western Balkan countries.
• Ukraine is the primary source of PM10 pollution from coal power in Europe, with eight of its plants appearing in the top ten most polluting plants for this pollutant.
• The ten most polluting coal plants for SO2 account for 44% of total SO2 emissions from coal power in Europe. This group includes three plants each from Turkey and Serbia, two from Bosnia & Herzegovina, and one each from Ukraine and North Macedonia.
• Turkey has the highest share of NOx pollution from coal power at 20%, followed by Germany (16%), Ukraine (16%), and Poland (14%).
• While most of the top thirty most polluting coal plants are older than 30 years, Turkey is the only exception, possessing plants less than ten years old within this group.
• Despite being a top polluter, Ukraine met all emission ceilings for SO2, NOx, and PM10 by a large margin in 2019, whereas Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia failed to comply with these ceilings in both 2018 and 2019.
• Turkey was the top OECD country for annual SO2 emissions from the energy sector in 2018, responsible for 33% of emissions, likely due to a lack of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems.

APA

Alparslan, U. (2021). Turkey, Ukraine and Western Balkan countries compete for top spot in coal power air pollution in Europe. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/05/Analysis_-Air-pollution-in-Turkey-Ukraine-and-the-Western-Balkans.pdf

Chicago

Alparslan, Ufuk. Turkey, Ukraine and Western Balkan countries compete for top spot in coal power air pollution in Europe. Ember, 2021. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/05/Analysis_-Air-pollution-in-Turkey-Ukraine-and-the-Western-Balkans.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alparslan |first1=Ufuk |title=Turkey, Ukraine and Western Balkan countries compete for top spot in coal power air pollution in Europe |publisher=Ember |date=25 May 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/05/Analysis_-Air-pollution-in-Turkey-Ukraine-and-the-Western-Balkans.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alparslan2021turkey, author = {Alparslan, Ufuk}, title = {{Turkey, Ukraine and Western Balkan countries compete for top spot in coal power air pollution in Europe}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/05/Analysis_-Air-pollution-in-Turkey-Ukraine-and-the-Western-Balkans.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }