due to ongoing defects or a backlog of maintenance issues.
Coal power share did rise by 1.5 percentage points to generate 16% of electricity, but it amounted to only"a minor ripple in coal power and a huge wave of support for renewables", said Ember's head of data insights, Dave JonLower electricity demand also helped reduce the energy deficit, dropping by 7.9% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year.
Mild weather was a significant factor, but concerns about costs, improved energy efficiency measures and"citizens acting in solidarity to cut energy demand in a time of crisis" likely also helped, Mr Ember said. However, the EU remains one of the world's largest emitters of climate-heating greenhouse gases, and its climate targets, policies, and finance are rated"insufficient" by the authoritative Climate Action Tracker.Elif Gunduzyeli, Senior Energy Policy Expert at CAN Europe, said it should"should not take a fossil gas crisis to hit" to grasp that demand reduction and increased wind and solar"can replace fossil fuels in the electricity sector".
Alexandru Mustata, coal campaigner at Europe Beyond Coal, warned that"countries like Bulgaria and Romania are trying to use the moment to construct a narrative that coal has a future.Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm.The show investigates how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.
It's called economics, coal price has increased by 4x.