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

A small number of countries, primarily Turkey, Ukraine, and those in the Western Balkans, are responsible for the majority of coal power air pollution in Europe. Ukraine dominates PM10 emissions, while Turkey leads in NOx pollution. The report highlights that most of the most polluting plants are over 30 years old, though Turkey is an exception with some young plants among the top polluters. Many Energy Community countries failed to meet 2019 emission ceilings, and the report argues that subsidies and rehabilitation costs should instead be redirected toward the region's significant renewable energy potential.

• Turkey and Ukraine are among the top three polluting countries for all three types of air pollution (SO2, NOx, and PM10), with Western Balkan countries also ranking highly despite their smaller size.
• Ukraine is the primary source of PM10 pollution from coal power in Europe, possessing eight of the ten most polluting plants for this specific pollutant.
• The ten most polluting coal plants for SO2 account for 44% of Europe's total SO2 emissions from coal power; these plants are located in Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 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 30 most polluting coal plants are older than 30 years, Turkey is the only exception, operating plants less than ten years old among the top 30 polluters.
• Despite being a top polluter, Ukraine met all 2019 emission ceilings for SO2, NOx, and PM10 by a large margin, whereas Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia failed to comply with these ceilings in both 2018 and 2019.
• The report argues that Turkey, Ukraine, and Western Balkan countries should shift subsidies from coal power to renewable energy, noting that Ukraine has 55 GW of solar and 319 GW of wind potential, and Western Balkan countries have 13 GW of solar and 45 GW of wind potential.

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} }