Top 10 EU emitters all coal power plants in 2021

Emissions from the EU power sector rise as the post-Covid economic recovery and gas price crisis push up coal power plants emissions.

Total EU-ETS emissions have seen an increase, rising 7% or 90 million tonnes (Mt) in the last year to 1364 Mt as Europe recovered from the impact of the pandemic. Compared with pre-pandemic 2019, emissions have decreased 8%. In the last year power sector emissions have gone up 10%.

Dirtiest emitters of 2021 are familiar repeat offenders

The top 10 emitters in the EU are made up of a mixture of lignite and hard coal power plants, with Bełchatów topping the table as it has done since the trading system began in 2005. 

For the first time, all of the top 10 plants are located in Germany and Poland, and make up 12% of total emissions across all installations in the EU-ETS. German lignite plant Niederaußem, owned by RWE, showed the largest emissions increase from 2020 of a colossal 36%. EPH/EnBW’s Lippendorf plant was the only new addition from last year, displacing Voestalpine’s Linz steel plant.

Serial offenders make up the majority of the list with six of the plants having the dubious honour of appearing in the top 10 every year since the EU-ETS began.

Coal pushes up EU power sector emissions

EU-ETS emissions cover power, aviation and other industries such as cement, steel and oil refineries. In 2021, industry accounted for 616 Mt of carbon emissions, up 3.6% from 2020 but down 3.7% on 2019. Cement, steel and oil refineries were the biggest industry emitters, producing roughly 27% of all EU-ETS emissions. The power sector currently accounts for roughly half of all EU-ETS emissions, down from two-thirds when the trading system began. 

In the EU power sector, rising gas prices caused coal to become more financially competitive in the second half of 2021, increasing lignite and hard coal generation. As seen in Ember’s European electricity review, gas generation decreased 5% across the EU in 2021 with coal increasing by 20% as it became more economically favourable. 

Along with a post-Covid rebound, these changes caused EU power sector emissions to rise by 10% to 720 Mt. While power sector emissions fell 7% compared to pre-pandemic 2019, this rate does not put the sector on track for a EU 2035 net-zero electricity system: a critical milestone for keeping global heating to 1.5C according to the IEA Net Zero pathway.

Coal emissions rise for first time since 2015

In 2021, coal emissions rose 17%, the largest increase since the EU-ETS began in 2005, and the first increase since 2015. This uptick from coal led to the release of 62 Mt more CO2 into the atmosphere than in 2020, with 49 Mt from just two countries: Germany and Poland. Emissions from hard coal and lignite accounted for 31% of all ETS emissions, up from 29% in 2020. 

Gas power plants were responsible for fewer emissions – down 3% on their 2020 level. In absolute terms, emissions from gas have decreased by 5.8 Mt since 2020, dwarfed by the increase of 62 Mt from coal. Italy, Germany and Spain remain the top three countries for gas power emissions, accounting for 58% of EU emissions from gas power plants.

Germany and Poland contribute more than half of EU power sector emissions

Germany and Poland were responsible for 53% of emissions from the EU power sector in 2021. In Poland 85% of power sector emissions come from coal. Previous analysis of coal scenarios in the Polish energy strategy (PEP2040) released in 2021 show that Poland still plans to produce at least 75 TWh from coal in 2030. This is a far cry from the decrease required according to the IPCC 1.5C report which states OECD nations should end coal use entirely by 2030. 

In Germany, the coalition government announced in November 2021 it would ‘ideally’ like to phase out coal by 2030. Currently 75% of power sector emissions in Germany come from hard coal and lignite plants. Unlike Poland, Germany has committed to decarbonising its electricity by 2035 and has recently released ambitious plans to increase its clean energy share to 80% by 2030, up from 40% today.

Utility PGE emits as much CO2 as Italy’s power sector

Three utilities dominate EU power sector emissions. Polish utility PGE was the largest emitter in 2021, emitting 70.5 Mt CO2 – equivalent to the emissions of Italy’s entire power sector. Emissions from utilities RWE and EPH followed close behind, with 69.4 Mt and 67.6 Mt CO2 respectively.

For these top three utilities, coal was responsible for 92% of their total EU power sector emissions. PGE and EPH both reported an increase in coal emissions since pre-pandemic 2019 of 17% and 8% respectively, whilst RWE coal emissions fell 9% since 2019. Previous analysis from Ember found that none of these utilities currently have a plan to phase out coal before 2038. 

ENGIE, EDF and Eni are the power sector utilities with the highest gas emissions in the EU-ETS, accounting for 20% of total gas power emissions. It’s long been clear that reliance on imported fossil gas exposes countries to volatile pricing and geopolitical pressures, but the war in Ukraine and surging gas prices have shattered the assumption that fossil gas can act as a ‘transition’ fuel. Utilities most reliant on gas will have to start to look at other options, starting with a significant increase in ambition on wind and solar.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, Europe is faced with the urgent task of cutting off reliance on Russian coal, oil and gas. Meanwhile, the third IPCC report released this week highlighted the pressing need for the world to end all fossil fuels to keep global heating to 1.5C. As governments consider extending coal use to end Russian gas imports, this report underlines that they can’t lose sight of the disastrous climate impact that comes with burning more coal. A recent report by Ember, E3G, RAP and Bellona showed that the EU can end imports of all Russian fossil gas by 2025 with clean energy replacing 66% of Russian gas imports, and without extending coal power generation. 

The rise in the EU-ETS price has provided a nudge away from the most polluting fuels, but carbon pricing alone won’t be able to shift the electricity sector fast enough. The EU and European countries need to make or firm up commitments to 100% zero-carbon power by 2035, signalling that the end of coal and gas generation is in sight, and urgently address regulatory and market barriers that are holding back clean energy deployment at the speed and scale needed.

See more: View the daily EU-ETS and UK-ETS carbon prices.

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