EU’s Climate Goals May Fail As They Burn More Coal To Wean Away From Russian Energy

The European Union (EU) said that it will use 5% more coal than the projected amount over the next five to ten years to generate energy as it phases itself away from Russian imports.

The EU, which has set carbon emission targets, said that it wants to end energy ties with Moscow within 2027 and said that despite the announcement it would still hit its carbon reduction goals, The Financial Times said in a report.

Following this announcement, coal will be used to generate 100 terawatt hours of power for the EU while 44 terawatt hours annually will be produced using nuclear sources.

Frans Timmermans, who is the executive vice-president of the EU Green Deal, accepted that there is no choice for them other than doing this. Timmermans’ response came when he was asked if the EU green deal was compatible with the REPowerEU plan.  The REPowerEU plan aims to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, whose revenue the bloc believes are used as an economic and political weapon.

The EU commission’s moves to lower use of Russian energy has angered several members of Green Groups – some of whom are also members of EU and have a sizable presence in the respective parliaments of the EU members – who claim that measures like selling 20 billion euros worth of surplus carbon emissions permits, building more fossil gas infrastructure or relying on increased biomass use will hurt the carbon emission targets the bloc has set.

Though 2 billion euros from these emission permits will go to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other landlocked states to stop their dependence on Russian energy, the bloc will still face issues as the surplus carbon emissions permits would allow the release of 250mn tonnes of CO₂.

The EU has urged governments to relax regulation to allow faster building of wind and solar projects to meet the emission targets citing fear that if not done with haste then it will dent EU members’ renewable energy goals.

The EU and at times the US, has been at loggerheads with developing nations, with respect to carbon emissions. In the past, the EU and the US, through rhetoric and regulations, have chosen to hold economies of India, China and other nations responsible for climate change and carbon emissions.

Former union minister Prakash Javadekar once pointed out that India is a sufferer and is not responsible for climate change since the EU’s contribution to global carbon emission is way more than India’s.

“Europe contributed 31% – 514 billion tons — of historical emissions between 1751 to 2017. The US contributed 25%, which is 400 billion tons; China contributed over 13%, equal to 200 billion tons while India has contributed only 48 billion tons. India’s net emissions are way lower than these regions and is not responsible for climate change,” Javadekar said last year while answering questions related to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

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