A Europe beyond coal is a question of when, not if, say the authors of “The Last Gasp – The coal companies making Europe sick”, launched this November. In addition to the volume of information and proposed calculations, the document includes a series of recommendations addressed to European energy sector companies. Thus, companies must:

• Stop all investment into hard coal and lignite with immediate effect. This includes not only new plants, but also means ceasing investments into existing plants. It also includes stopping all investments in new and existing mines – to put an end to destruction of forests and villages, and forced relocations.
• Commit to the closure of all hard coal and lignite plants by 2030 or earlier. Companies should not sell their coal plants but rather take responsibility for closing them, and closure dates should be announced to plan for a just transition.
• Stop lobbying for coal; especially to weaken and seek derogation from “BREF – Best available techniques REFerence documents” air pollution limits and campaign for capacity mechanisms.
• Work proactively with stakeholders to speed a just transition away from coal to minimize the societal and economic impacts of coal closures.
• Adopt business plans that ensure the company genuinely contributes towards compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement aim of temperature rises not exceeding 1.5°C.

“The Last Gasp – The coal companies making Europe sick” report mainly analyzes the top 10 most polluting thermal power plants in Europe – none in Romania; however, in the Greenpeace Romania press release, there are a few mentions to the situation in our country. Among these, one of the statements of the environmental NGO is that, CE Oltenia, CE Hunedoara, CET Govora and CET Oradea, all companies owned by the Romanian authorities (either at central or local level) would constitute together “the fifth most toxic company in the EU”. It is worth recalling that Greenpeace Romania, with the support of ClientEarth, a legal assistance NGO on environmental issues, filed a legal challenge against the Rovinari Thermal Power Plant. In turn, CE Oltenia also sent a press release in which it dismissed the main accusations made by environmental NGOs in the above mentioned report.