Germany and Poland’s coal phase-out vital for EU to reach 2030 climate goals

All of EU’s 300 coal power plants must shut down for the EU to reach the Paris Agreement goals. Poland and Germany are the major coal powered countries in the union; while Germany has started its coal phase-out, Poland’s government still leans on coal. 

Research institute Climate Analytics released the report called A stress test for coal in Europe under the Paris Agreement, the first ever systematic analysis on how Europe can abandon coal and reach the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius. According to the report, “the EU will exceed its Paris Agreement-compatible coal emissions budget by 85% if its existing coal-fired power plants continue operating to their full lifespan.”

Coal power is one of the most hazardous for the climate, and can be replaced by renewable energy. Paola Yanguas Parra, one of the study’s main authors said “the cheapest way for the EU to reduce emissions is to phase out coal from the electricity sec...