Coal news and updates

Finland has taken a page from Canada’s books by announcing Thursday it plans to phase out coal by 2030 as the country steps up efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The move, part of the Finland government’s energy and climate strategy, aims to make the nation's energy production carbon-neutral and based on renewable biofuels by 2050, Good News Finland reports.

 

The news doesn’t come as a surprise as the fossil fuels use has been steadily falling in the European nation since 2011. Things got even more serious in 2012, when Finland hiked investments in renewable, leading to a near doubling of wind power capacity the following year, according to New Scientist. And as recent as this February, the government injected a further $85 million (€80 million) into its renewable power sector.

 

Currently, coal generates barely 8% of the country’s power needs.

 

The proposed phased out, which needs lawmakers' approval, comes barely days after Canada announced a similar measure and a week behind France’s prime minister announcement that his country would shut all its coal plants by 2023.

Source: Mining.Com