The Energy Conundrum: Coal Consumption in the European Union

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia made claims that members of the European Union still operate coal-fired power plants. According to Bahlil, these developed European countries still purchase coal from Indonesia.

Bahlil mentioned this in relation to the Indonesian government's energy transition plan, which he believed was too hasty.

"We are too modern. But it's okay. This is in the interest of preserving our planet. The important thing is not to overdo government subsidies," said Bahlil during the launch of the Business Plan for Electricity Supply by PT PLN (Persero) for 2025-2034 at the ministry office in Jakarta on Monday, May 26, 2025.

Hard coal consumption in the European Union

According to the official statistics of the European Union, Poland (42 percent) and Germany (23 percent) together contributed to almost two-thirds of the total hard coal consumption in the region in 2023, followed by Italy, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Spain (each between 3 percent and 6 percent).

But data shows a decline in hard coal consumption from 2018, with 200 million tons, to 150 million tons in 2023. The consumption of hard coal by countries in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has remained stable since 1990. In 2022, Norway and Iceland reported a hard coal consumption of 1 million tons.

Aside from Montenegro, every candidate and potential candidate country of the European Union also reported hard coal consumption ranging from a few thousand to a few million tons.

Hard coal consumption in the Western Balkans never exceeded 3 million tons. In 2022, the consumption reached 1.8 million tons, with Bosnia and Herzegovina accounting for almost three-quarters of the consumption in the region.

Brown coal consumption in European countries

The consumption of brown coal, or low-calorie coal, in the European Union in 2023 is estimated to reach 223 million tons, 40 percent lower than in 2018.

In the 1990s, consumption rapidly declined and generally stagnated between 2000 and 2015 in the range of 400 to 450 million tons per year. Then, from 2018 to 2020, brown coal consumption sharply declined before rising again in 2021 and 2022.

With another significant decrease in 2023, brown coal consumption in the European Union is now estimated to reach its lowest point in history, even lower than the pandemic level in 2020.

Germany represented 46 percent of the total brown coal consumption in the European Union in 2023, followed by Poland (18 percent), the Czech Republic (13 percent), Bulgaria (9 percent), Romania (7 percent), and Greece (5 percent).

Unlike in the European Union, the consumption of brown coal surged in candidate countries, with 157 million tons in 2022, a 44 percent rise from 1990. Turkey contributed 58 percent of this total consumption, almost doubling from 46 million tons in 1990 to 91 million tons in 2022.

The countries of the Western Balkans accounted for most of the remaining 42 percent, with Georgia reporting a small consumption of 144 thousand tons and Moldova reporting no consumption of brown coal.

In 1990, there were three countries in the Western Balkans that produced and consumed brown coal: Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Their combined consumption reached 54 million tons. Since 2000, three other Western Balkan countries also started producing brown coal. The Western Balkan countries consumed 65 million tons of brown coal in 2022, an increase of one-fifth compared to 1990.

The largest producer and consumer of brown coal in the Western Balkans is Serbia, which accounted for 57 percent of brown coal consumption in the region. In Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo, production and consumption never exceeded 10 million tons per year. Albania stopped its production in 2013 but resumed it in 2022 in very small quantities, all of which are exported.

Han Revanda contributed to the writing of this article.

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