Coal power

South Africa’s state-owned power company, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, operates 15 coal-fired power stations. Most of them are located ...

Paris Agreement compatible scenarios need the EU to do much more to reduce emissions and increase renewables and energy savings.

From 16 August, EU governments are required to comply with the revised best available techniques reference document for large combustion plants, known as the LCP BREF.

The EU Large Combustion Plants Directive was the main driver behind the significant air pollutant emission cuts in this sector from 2004 to 2015, according to a new EEA report.

Closing down the 10 per cent most polluting coal-fired plants would reduce air pollution health impacts from coal power generation by nearly two-thirds.

It is now up to the member states to set ambitious emission standards for large combustion plants, in line with the strictest recommended air pollution limit values.

The Hamburg-based green electricity provider, Greenpeace Energy, wants to shut down RWE’s coal power plants and replace them with 8.2 GW of wind and solar systems.

Germany’s fleet of hard coal-fired power plants could cut emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) in half tomorrow, if they used already-fitted pollution reduction equipment at full capacity.

Greenpeace Romania, with the support of ClientEarth, has submitted a legal challenge against a lifetime permit granted in September to one of Romania’s oldest and largest coal power plants, Rovinari.

New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of carbon dioxide emissions.

The worldwide movement against coal power is getting stronger and has already made some progress.

Polish lignite plant Belchatow and British coal plant Drax continue to dominate Europe’s most polluting point sources in 2015.

Fossil fuel subsidies support an industry that causes premature deaths and ill-health worldwide – the health costs associated with fossil fuel use are more than sixfold the subsidies.

For years Pernik, in southwestern Bulgaria, has topped the charts for the city with the highest air pollution in the EU.

Large combustion plants will have to meet new mandatory standards for the release of toxic air pollutants under the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive from 2021.

Work has frozen at over 100 projects in China and India, in addition there is a 62 per cent decline in global construction starts and a 48 per cent drop in pre-construction activity.