Portugal becomes the fourth EU country to stop using coal to generate electricity

Source: · EURO NEWS · | November 22, 2021

Source: Portugal becomes the fourth country to stop using coal.   -   Copyright  Canva

Portugal shut down its last remaining coal plant over the weekend, ending the use of the polluting material for electricity generation. It becomes the fourth country in the European Union to do so.

Environmental group Zero said in a statement the Pego plant in central Portugal had been the country's second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, adding that "freeing ourselves from the biggest source of greenhouse gases was a momentous day for Portugal".

Although the licence for the power plant is technically in place until the end of the month, its final stock of coal ran out on Friday. That made Saturday the first day that electricity was produced in the country without the use of coal.

The move comes nine years before Portugal's targeted end of the use of the fossil fuel by 2030. The process began in 2017 when the country signed a declaration to exit coal use at COP23.

Belgium, Austria and Sweden are the other three European countries to have already stopped using coal for power generation.

Although a hefty 60 to 70 per cent of its electricity comes from renewable sources, Portugal still relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet overall energy needs.

Portugal's exit from coal comes after the European Commission announced it would be suing the country for failing to take action on poor air quality.