Germany and other European countries like Italy, Austria and the Netherlands are considering switching back to coal power due to the imminent shortage they face as a result of sanctions against gas from Russia.

This move has come as a result of the need that has been raised in countries like Germany that rely heavily on Russian gas. Due to the occupation of Ukraine, the European Union, in a bid to put pressure on the gas-producing nation have come to a resolution to wean itself of their power.

Coal
Robert Habeck is Germany’s Economy Minister

Germany’s Economy Minister who has been a strong campaigner for environmentally sustainable measures, Robert Habeck, has said that their reliance on coal is one that has come up as result of “sheer necessity”.

“But if we don’t do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level,” he is quoted to have said.

Other countries in the community have initiated plans that aims at reducing the effects this can have on their economies. The Netherlands revealed on Monday, it will remove a cap on production at coal-fired energy plants and also roll out what it called an energy crisis plan in phases. The three phased plan currently in its “early warning“ stage is seeing to the alerting of users, regulators and governments to a concrete threat of a gas shortage.

Denmark has also initiated the first step of an emergency gas plan due to the Russian supply uncertainty.

Italy on the other hand moved closer to declaring a state of alert on energy after oil company Eni (ENI.MI) said it was told by Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) that it would receive only part of its request for gas supplies on Monday.

Coal is known to produce more greenhouse gases and remains a part of the resources in the European Union and across the globe have committed to taking out as part of efforts to save the climate from destruction.

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