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Poland is the bug CO2 reduction saboteur in the EU, so coal is certainly still strong there.

Coal-fired Poland vetoes fresh EU emissions targets | News | DW.DE | 10.03.2012

Poland has blocked an EU deal that would have set long-term goals on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The government in Warsaw said it was too soon to set post-2020 targets, especially for Europe alone.

...According to a 2011 World Bank report, Poland generated 88 percent of its electricity in 2010 through coal, a source of power that emits high levels of carbon dioxide. Last June, Warsaw opposed an EU proposal to increase the 2020 CO2 reduction target from 20 percent versus 1990 levels to 30 percent.

The Czech Republic still produces coal in the Ostrava region at least. Belgium stopped production AFAIK.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sat Jun 30th, 2012 at 05:51:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Based on Euracoal's annual report, hard coal production in EU countries in 2011:

  1. Poland, 75.7 million tonnes (different classification, includes "brown coal")
  2. UK, 18.3 million tonnes
  3. Germany, 13.0 million tonnes
  4. Czech Republic, 11.3 million tonnes (in four mines all in the Ostrava region)
  5. Spain, 6.6 million tonnes
  6. Bulgaria, 2.4 million tonnes
  7. Romania, 2.2 million tonnes

They say in the 2010 annual report that Belgium and the Netherlands closed the last mines in the seventies, and France in 2004.

But note that the dirtier non-hard coal ("brown coal", lignite) is a whole different story. Again numbers from Euroacoal:

  1. Germany, 176.5 million tonnes
  2. Poland, 62.8 million tonnes
  3. Greece, 56.8 million tonnes
  4. Czech Republic, 46.6 million tonnes
  5. Bulgaria, 34.5 million tonnes
  6. Romania, 32.0 million tonnes
  7. Hungary, 9.5 million tonnes
  8. Slovenia, 4.5 million tonnes
  9. Slovakia, 2.4 million tonnes

Both rankings again with the note that it's some apples and oranges as coal categories differ between countries. I listed the mined tonnages which indicate the mining-related environmental impact; but for most countries the Euracoal document also gives the "coal equivalent" tonnages which is standardised for heat value.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sat Jun 30th, 2012 at 06:32:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
U.S.A., just over 1000 million tons.
China, around 3000 million tons.
Etc.

The low price of natural gas is currently hurting the coal industry, but whether that pricing can be sustained is questionable. There is still a lot of coal out there.

The current early summer American heat wave seems to be changing some views on climate change, though.

by asdf on Fri Jul 6th, 2012 at 11:02:12 PM EST
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