Coal-fired Power Stations and the European Union

The European Union has sought to position itself as a global leader on the issue of climate change. It is expected to meet its mandated 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, 2008-2012. Outside of the Kyoto Framework, the EU has committed to cutting its emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 and is willing to reduce by 30 percent, if industrialised nations outside the EU follow suit. However, EU targets are incompatible with continued subsidies for coal and the building of new coal-fired power plants.