Ukraine Crisis: Time for Europe to give (clean) coal a bigger share

Did anyone of us ever think that switching from coal to imported gas could pose a major risk to the security of energy supplies in Europe?

At least six European countries rely exclusively on one country for natural gas supply – Russia. During a recent press conference Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister called for changes in the EU energy policy and added that “Germany’s dependence on Russian gas may effectively decrease Europe’s sovereignty”.

EU relies on Russia for 30% of its natural gas imports, with 80% of that delivered through Ukrainian pipelines. Ukraine is a major gas transit nation for supplies from Russia to EU. Earlier this month Russia warned it could stop distributing gas to Ukraine over unpaid bills and any such move can have dramatic consequences for the EU.  With Europe’s main natural gas supply route at risk this provides the policy makers in the EU re-think and direct more attention to Europe’s indigenous coal resources as well as secured and reliable coal imports.

Source: BBC News

Coal accounts for 90% of the EU’s fossil fuel energy and natural gas accounts for only 7%. Hence, it is not surprising at all that Europe imports almost 70% of its natural gas and as per a report from European Commission it will have to import close to 80% by 2030.

Coal continues to remain integral to EU, as it creates jobs, keeps the domestic producers in business and more importantly reinforces the continent’s energy security. Imported coal has been a reliable source of energy for Europe. Unlike natural gas coal imports are not dependent upon transport infrastructure such as LNG terminals or pipelines so any drop in supply from one country can be easily filled by another supplier. Currently, 60% of EU’s coal imports come from the USA, South Africa, Australia & Colombia & 25% is sourced from Russia.

There is a strong security argument against over-reliance on natural gas imports from Russia and this should be given more attention in the EU’s 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. None of the targets, measures & policies proposed as part of this package should force Europe into a position where it is slowly abandoning the most abundant, affordable and secure energy fuel it is endowed with to the benefit of imported natural gas.