The process of greening up the world ’ s electricity supply has also been made more challenging due to the geo-political instability in eastern Europe . EnAppSys data shows that Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine sent wholesale gas prices in Europe soaring to record levels in the first quarter this year . This made gas-fired generation less attractive and increased Europe ’ s reliance on coal to offset a fall in nuclear generation and lower-than-usual levels of hydro output . All of this emphasizes that , in the short term , market circumstances indicate a need for coal-fired generation . With low French nuclear generation and the planned nuclear phase-outs in
Germany and Belgium , together with super high gas prices , limited LNG capacity and a potential shut-down of Russian gas flows , it appears that Europe cannot do without coal for the moment .
However , the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) clearly indicates that climate goals cannot be met if coal generation is not significantly scaled down . This means that in the mid to long-term , coal must shut down to meet climate goals . In the context of the Ukrainian war , there ’ s
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