02 November 2021

Croatia announces 2033 coal phase out

2 November 2021 – Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković used his opening address at the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow today to announce that his country will phase out its only coal plant, the 335MW Plomin, making Croatia coal free by 2033 at the latest. Croatia is the twenty first European country to commit to ending the use of coal power since the Paris Agreement was signed.

“Croatia’s announcement of a 2033 or sooner coal phase out is a welcome addition to the start of COP26,” said Kathrin Gutmann, Europe Beyond Coal campaign director. “Coal closures are accelerating across Europe at a tremendous pace, and we fully expect Croatia to say goodbye to coal by 2030 at the latest, like all other responsible European countries. Focusing on the transition to a fossil-free, fully renewable energy based power sector by 2035 is the smartest way forward for Europe, and sunny Croatia can set a great example of how to replace coal with renewable energy.”

“If we want to stay below 1.5 degrees, all European countries including Croatia must quit coal by 2030 at the latest. Croatia’s neighbours Italy, and Hungary have already done this and Croatia should be aiming to join them,” said Zoran Tomić, Director at Greenpeace CEE, Croatia and Slovenia. “Critically, the coal phase out must not mean a pivot to false solutions such as fossil gas or nuclear energy. Croatia has enormous renewable energy potential, especially solar. Together with increasing energy efficiency, this is the way forward.”

“Croatia’s Plomin Power plant is responsible for almost 40 percent of CO2 emissions from the country’s largest electricity utility. To avoid surging energy prices, it is essential that it is replaced with renewable energy within the next five years,” said Bernard Ivčić from Zelena akcija – Friends of the Earth Croatia. “The government needs to put every incentive in place to make sure the phase out happens earlier.”

A total of 16 European countries are now coal free, or have official coal phase out dates of 2030 at the very latest. A further five including Croatia have coal phase out dates after 2030.

ENDS

Contacts:
Alastair Clewer, Communications Officer, Europe Beyond Coal
alastair@beyond-coal.eu, +49 176 433 07 185

Notes:

1. Overview of national coal phase out commitments: https://beyond-coal.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Briefing-Overview-of-National-Coal-Phase-out-Commitments-2-November-2021.pdf
2. European countries already coal-free: Belgium (2016), Austria (2020), Sweden (2020).
3. European countries with a coal phase-out by 2025: Portugal (end-2021), France (2022), UK (2024), Hungary (2025), Italy (2025), Ireland (2025), Greece (2025).
4. European countries with a phase-out by 2030: North Macedonia (2027) Denmark (2028), Finland (mid-2029), Netherlands (end-2029), Slovakia (2030), Spain (2030).
5. European countries with a phase-out after 2030: Germany (2038), Montenegro (2035), Croatia (2033), Romania (2032), Bulgaria (2038-40).
6. Explore more data on the European coal phase out using the Europe Beyond Coal Coal Exit Tracker: https://beyond-coal.eu/coal-exit-tracker/
7. Why Europe must phase-out coal by 2030 to respect the UN Paris climate agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C: https://climateanalytics.org/briefings/coal-phase-out/

About:
Europe Beyond Coal is an alliance of civil society groups working to catalyse the closures of coal mines and power plants, prevent the building of any new coal projects and hasten the just transition to clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our groups are devoting their time, energy and resources to this independent campaign to make Europe coal free by 2030 or sooner. www.beyond-coal.eu