BRUSSELS - European coal-fuelled power generation climbed last year as countries scrambled to replace Russian gas, but the increase was smaller than feared as renewable energy helped to plug the gap, researchers said on Tuesday.February 2022 invasion of Ukraine,As a result, coal power’s share of EU electricity generation rose by 1.5 percentage points in 2022, to account for 16 per cent of annual generation, think-tank Ember said in a report.
Ember said the return to the most polluting fossil fuel “could have been much worse”. Increased generation from wind and solar, plus an overall drop in EU power use amid mild weather and as consumers struggled with high prices, prevented a bigger coal rebound, it said. The EU has said any uptick in coal use will be short-lived, and that countries should largely replace Russian gas using green energy and energy savings.