Environmental campaigners, the Climate Action Network, have compiled a list of the EU’s 30 most polluting coal-fired power stations of which the UK and whilst Germany lead, nine of the top 30 power stations named belong to the UK.
A new report critically evaluates the current EU policies on climate, claiming it is not strong enough to achieve a switch from coal to renewable energy. The report states, “Germany and the UK are the self-declared climate champions of the EU, however, Germany uses more coal to generate electricity than any other EU country, while the UK comes third in absolute coal consumption for power after Poland.”
Drax, the UK’s largest power plant came sixth on the list, with Poland and Germany’s power stations occupying the places above. Many of these power stations were built in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in low generation efficiency.
This isn’t the first time Germany have received criticism from nuclear energy supporters as they have opted to phase out all nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster.
Campaigners argue coal emissions are damaging efforts to combat climate change. The total emissions from the EU energy sector have fallen, but the popular use of cheap coal may put the EU in jeopardy of not meeting their climate targets according to campaigners.
Jenny Banks, part of one of the groups that produced the report said: “Our political leaders are justifiably proud of their record on supporting tackling climate change on the global stage, but they must make sure they’re not saying one thing and doing another. Coal is by far the most polluting source of electricity. Tackling climate change means making sure that emissions from coal power are phased out over the next decade.”
It has also been pointed out within the report that coal burning not only effects climate, but also public health. Air pollution in this form is thought to cause somewhere in the region of 1,600 deaths a year in the UK alone.
