Coal Phase Out

The report "Feasibility of Coal in the Age of Renewable Energy: Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant Case" by WWF Turkey and SEFiA (Sustainable Economy and Financial Research Association) in collaboration with Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe reveals why coal investments no longer bring profits, through the example of the Hunutlu coal-fired thermal power

This document sets out our contribution to the Public Consultation for the Revision of the Guidelines on State aid for Environmental protection and Energy 2014-2020 (EEAG).

The Polish government is on the hunt for securing yet another stream of subsidies to its coal industry, two weeks after EU leaders agreed on an enhanced climate target by 2030. But the European Commission can stop this, write Elif Gündüzyeli and Joanna Flisowska.

With this submission, CAN Europe responds to the consultation on the storylines for the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2022.

Much business was left unfinished at the last Ministerial Council⁽²⁾ of the Energy Community, the international treaty aiming to integrate the energy markets of the EU and its neighbours. This was due to political circumstances that led to limited participation of the member countries, the so-called contracting parties⁽³⁾. Yet, the Energy Community is making an effort to move the energy transition forward to our shared objective of climate

Coal regions can become champions of the renewable energy sector. They have the energy infrastructure, the land, the people.

As the Coal Platform for the Western Balkans and Ukraine kicks off with an inaugural meeting on Dec. 10-11, 18 NGOs active in the Western Balkans and Ukraine call for effective rules to be put in place from the start in order to ensure an inclusive transition away from all fossil fuels.

In the EU it has been accepted as the norm that the coal era is coming to an end. Only six countries are yet to commit to a coal phaseout before 2030, while some southeast European countries – Greece and Slovakia – have committed to doing so even much earlier. The challenge is to plan alternatives as soon as possible and do so in a manner that is representative of the interests of workers and communities from the coal regions. Against this backdrop, the Western Balkans

Enerji Şartı Anlaşması enerji sektöründe faaliyet gösteren yabancı yatırımcıları koruyan ve yatırımcıların devlet önlemlerini Yatırımcı-Devlet Uyuşmazlık Çözümü mekanizmasına (YDUÇ) götürmelerine olanak veren uluslararası bir anlaşmadır. Bu anlaşma, Avrupa Birliği’nin (AB) iklim taahhütleri ile uyumsuzdur ve gerekli reformlar tartışılmadığı ya da diğer imzacılar tarafından reformlara itiraz edildiği için halihazırdaki modernleşme süreci de bunu düzeltmeyecektir.

Recent developments in the Western Balkans countries indicate that they can take concrete actions and join the EU in tackling the climate crisis, but the progress made so far is not enough.

The Energy Community Secretariat’s 2020 Implementation Report highlights some of the key obstacles in transforming the energy system of the involved countries, including the Western Balkans, in the foreseen timeline.

To ensure the Competition Policy’s alignment with the European Green Deal, the state aid regime must be revised, taking the Union’s 2050 climate neutrality and new 2030 GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, as well as zero pollution and circular economy strategies into account. The Green Deal alignment should be reflected on all state aid regulations and not only on those for environmental protection and energy.

“The Energy Community Contracting Parties have legal obligations regarding the prohibition of state aid that distorts or threatens to distort competition, which must be respected.⁽¹⁾ State aid authorities in the Contracting Parties systematically turn a blind eye to this obligation.”⁽²⁾

The third round of negotiations to 'modernise' the obscure Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is coming to a close. From 3 to 6 November, the 53 contracting parties of the treaty tried to find ways to make the agreement from the 1990s fit for the challenges of the 21st century - foremost the climate crisis. But there is no hope that the ECT will be brought in line with the Paris Agreement and the EU's climate commitments.

For decades, European trade policy has aimed to liberalise international trade, allowing
European companies to access foreign markets, raw materials and labour, leading to
deregulation often against the public interest and contributing to negative social and
environmental impacts both here and abroad. This form of unfettered economic globalisation
has deepened global inequality, concentrated

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed the new target in her state of the (European) Union address at the European Parliament yesterday. She said “the Western Balkans are the European Union” and called the region “a part of Europe, and not a stopover on the Silk Road”.

The European Parliament has adopted its position on the Just Transition Fund (JTF), and has allowed for fossil gas subsidies to be included while the goal of the fund is to support fossil-fuel reliant regions in their swift transition to climate neutrality, away from fossil fuels. This vote clearly contradicts last week Parliament’s call for much-needed 60% greenhouse gas emission cuts in the EU by 2030, and multiple earlier commitments to end fossil fuel subsidies.