A German 2030 exit will isolate remaining EU coal power polluters

This report by Ember analyzes the progress of European Union member states in phasing out coal power by 2030. It highlights that while the EU is rapidly reducing coal electricity generation—accelerated by Germany's aim to exit coal by 2030—a small group of countries, specifically Poland, Czechia, and Bulgaria, are transitioning much more slowly and will account for the vast majority of the EU's remaining coal power in 2030.

• The European Union is significantly reducing its reliance on coal, with electricity generation from coal projected to drop by 83% between 2015 and 2030, falling from 705 TWh to 118 TWh based on current national government plans.
• Coal phase-out plans have accelerated rapidly; in less than two years following the submission of National Energy & Climate Plans, planned 2030 coal electricity generation in the EU decreased by 58%. This acceleration is expected to avoid between 89 and 152 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2030.
• Three countries—Poland, Czechia, and Bulgaria—are identified as laggards that will be responsible for over 95% of the EU's planned coal electricity generation in 2030. Specifically, Poland is projected to account for 63%, Czechia 18%, and Bulgaria 14%. While the rest of the EU-27 is expected to reduce coal output by 99% between 2015 and 2030, these three countries are only offering a combined decline of 42%.
• Poland's transition is particularly slow; it generated 70% of its electricity from coal in 2020 and has confirmed a coal exit date of 2049. Czechia's new government coalition aims for a phase-out before 2038, though a final date is not yet determined. Bulgaria's draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan submitted on 15 October 2021 suggests a phase-out in 2038 or 2040.

APA

Ember (2021). A German 2030 exit will isolate remaining EU coal power polluters. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/12/English-Remaining-EU-Coal-Power-Polluters.pdf

Chicago

Ember. A German 2030 exit will isolate remaining EU coal power polluters. 2021. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/12/English-Remaining-EU-Coal-Power-Polluters.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=A German 2030 exit will isolate remaining EU coal power polluters |date=November 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/12/English-Remaining-EU-Coal-Power-Polluters.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2021german, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{A German 2030 exit will isolate remaining EU coal power polluters}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2021/12/English-Remaining-EU-Coal-Power-Polluters.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }