Europe Will Support Coal-reliant Regions as Clean Energy Takes Over

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Union (EU) has pledged to aid regions heavily reliant on coal mining and coal-fired power as the region transitions to renewable energy.

With its Coal Regions in Transition Platform, the EU recognised that the shift to a more sustainable future had to ensure that "no regions should be left behind when moving away from an economy driven by fossil fuels." The EU also said that its commitment to a clean energy transition is "irreversible and non-negotiable."

The announcement comes hot on the heels of a Carbon Tracker report that highlighted that the operating cost of coal could be higher than the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of onshore wind by 2024 and solar photovoltaics (PV) by 2027. It claimed that most coal-fired units will be loss-making by 2030 and estimated that the EU could avoid $26 billion in losses by phasing out coal power in line with the Paris Agreement. For additional information, see December 13, article - European Utilities Support Faster Shift to Clean Energy.

The new Platform will facilitate the development of projects and long-term strategies in coal regions, with the aim of kick-starting the transition process and responding to environmental and social challenges. It will bring together EU, national, regional and local stakeholders involved in the transition to help them foster partnerships and learn from each other's experiences. The Platform's activities will initially focus on coal regions, with the aim to expand to carbon-intensive regions in the future.

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete stated: "Governments, business and regions all around the world are moving beyond coal. Electricity generation from coal is declining. This is an irreversible trend towards clean power, also here in Europe. But in this shift to a more sustainable future, there will be certain regions which find it more difficult than others to make this transition. All Europeans should benefit from this transition, and no region should be left behind when moving away fossil fuels. This initiative will help European countries, regions, communities and workers to take on the challenge of the required economic diversification of the clean energy transition."

In parallel, the Commission is working on a pilot basis with a small number of regions (Trencin, Silesia and Western Macedonia) in the member states of Slovakia, Poland and Greece. Pilot teams began work in mid-2017 to plan and accelerate the process of economic diversification and technological transition through technical assistance, information exchange and tailored bilateral dialogue on relevant EU funds, programmes and financing tools. Their experiences will be shared with the Platform for Coal Regions in Transition, the EC confirmed.

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