Skip to content
Green
Energy & Science

Gas Is So Scarce in Europe That Coal Is Making a Comeback

  • Europe needs coal to meet power demand back at pre-Covid level
  • Gas inventories in Europe are 25% below the five-year average
Europe charges utilities such as steel producers for polluting the environment.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.

Europe is so short of natural gas that the continent -- usually seen as the poster child for the global fight against emissions -- is turning to coal to meet electricity demand that is now back to pre-pandemic levels.