LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD

The report 'Lifting Europe’s Dark Cloud' examines the health consequences of coal power emissions in Europe, highlighting that 22,900 premature deaths were caused by these plants in 2013. It argues that current EU legislation, specifically the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), is undermined by widespread 'derogations' that allow over half of European coal plants to exceed safety limits. The authors model three scenarios, demonstrating that adopting the most stringent 'Best Available Techniques' (BAT) could reduce annual premature deaths from 8,900 (under proposed BREF limits) to 2,600, while slashing annual health costs from 24.3 billion to 7.1 billion euros. The document calls for the removal of legal loopholes, the immediate adoption of revised LCP BREF standards, and a total phase-out of coal in favor of renewable energy.

• Coal-fired power plants in Europe were responsible for approximately 22,900 premature deaths in 2013, along with 11,800 new cases of chronic bronchitis in adults and 6.6 million lost working days.
• More than 50% of European coal power plants use 'derogations' (legal exemptions) to exceed the minimum binding limits of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). These plants accounted for 60% of all coal-related premature deaths in 2013.
• The Transitional National Plan (TNP) is identified as the most harmful derogation, delaying IED compliance until July 2020 and allowing plants to use a tradable 'emissions bubble' system. 99 out of 257 coal plants use the TNP, contributing to 9,170 premature deaths in 2013.
• Implementing the proposed BREF (Best Available Techniques Reference Document) limits would reduce annual premature deaths from 11,400 (under 2016 IED limits) to 8,900, and lower the annual health bill from 63.2 billion to 24.3 billion euros.
• Adopting the strictest 'Best Available Techniques' (BAT) scenario—the lower end of the emission range—could further reduce annual premature deaths to 2,600 and annual health costs to 7.1 billion euros.
• Delays in adopting the revised LCP BREF, which should have occurred in August 2014, have resulted in 5,600 unnecessary deaths and a health bill exceeding 15.6 billion euros.
• Coal power plants contribute 18% of all greenhouse gases in Europe, meaning that while emission limits improve health, a complete phase-out of coal is necessary to address climate change.
• In the UK, the RWE Aberthaw plant was granted a NOx emissions ceiling of 27,843 tonnes, which was six times the IED limit of 200mg/Nm³.

APA

Schaible, C., Lazarus, A., Jones, D., Flisowska, J., Gogolewska, J., & Urbaniak, D. (2016). LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Lifting-europes-dark-cloud-2016.pdf

Chicago

Schaible, Christian, Anton Lazarus, Dave Jones, Joanna Flisowska, Julia Gogolewska, and Darek Urbaniak. LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD. Ember, 2016. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Lifting-europes-dark-cloud-2016.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schaible |first1=Christian |last2=Lazarus |first2=Anton |last3=Jones |first3=Dave |last4=Flisowska |first4=Joanna |last5=Gogolewska |first5=Julia |last6=Urbaniak |first6=Darek |title=LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD |publisher=Ember |date=October 2016 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Lifting-europes-dark-cloud-2016.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schaible2016lifting, author = {Schaible, Christian and Lazarus, Anton and Jones, Dave and Flisowska, Joanna and Gogolewska, Julia and Urbaniak, Darek}, title = {{LIFTING EUROPE’S DARK CLOUD}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Lifting-europes-dark-cloud-2016.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }