By Frank Clemente and Fred Palmer; Coal is the Cornerstone, LLC.

December 8, 2025 - Will Rogers said:  "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging,"  Nevertheless, Europe continues to shovel deeper and deeper. The recent and projected increases in electricity prices in the EU are damaging the future of European families, businesses and communities. Electricity is the sine qua non of modern civilization. Societies which have ready access to abundant, reliable and affordable electricity prosper while those who do not have populations which are mired in energy poverty, adversely impacting virtually every dimension of life. In the case of Europe, the high cost of electricity not only impacts the present but also significantly constrains the future - especially in regard to the benefits of AI and the associated data centers which require 24/7 power at affordable rates. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that EU energy policies are relegating its member states to “also-ran” status in the race for Artificial Intelligence.

Coal has been the undeniable foundation of modernity for upwards of two centuries and still provides almost 35% of the world’s electricity, 74% of steel, 85% of cement and is a significant contributor to the production of many other crucial materials. Our current civilization would not exist without coal.

Within the last decade, however, a number of European countries have moved away from coal generation to pursue: (1) natural gas – not only does 90% of gas have to imported but it is also the fuel with the greatest price volatility and (2) wind and solar - despite their intermittency, a vast array of hidden costs, and the need for never-ending subsidies. The decline of coal is real. In 2015 coal produced 23% of UK electricity but has now disappeared from the scene. In Germany, coal produced 44% of electricity just 10 years ago but merely 22% in 2025. And in Italy, 17% of electricity was produced by coal in 2015, but now that number is barely 1%. The negative socio-economic impacts of this decline in coal-based electricity are succinctly summed up by Fairless and Colchester’s piece “Europe’s Green Energy Rush Slashed Emissions -and Crippled the Economy” in last week’s Wall Street Journal (12/2/2025):

“High energy costs due to carbon reduction goals are driving de-industrialization in Europe. Average electricity prices for heavy industries in the EU remain roughly twice those in the U.S. and 50% above China... Germany has the highest domestic electricity prices in the developed world, while the U.K. has the highest industrial rates … Energy prices have also grown more volatile as the share of renewables increased.”

Bjorn Lomborg was even more blunt: “Europe is committing economic suicide with the climate change cult “

A tale of two faltering economies:

Germany-- a traditional economic powerhouse, has cut coal generation in half and is experiencing an extended period of stagnation, leading the magazine The Economist to question whether “Germany is the sick man Europe?”   The German GDP in 2024 was about the same size as the GDP in 2019 and high energy costs are having dreadful impacts on the quality of life of the population.

Further, the German industrial sector has lost over 250,000 jobs since 2019 with major losses in automobile manufacturing. And the beat goes on as German industrial production has plunged 4% since the first of the year.  But the worst may be yet to come as Germany’s renowned chemical sector is on the ropes. Wacker Chemie recently announced 1,500 job cuts as the CEO Christian Hartel stated: “the excessively high energy prices and bureaucratic obstacles continue to act as a central brake on the successful development of the chemical industry."

United Kingdom eliminated coal generation over the past decade and is now awash in social and economic problems relating to exploding electric rates.  Families are getting crushed. In 2015 the residential rate for electricity was 21 cents per kWh. Today it is 40 cents—a 90% increase. The human impact of this dramatic increase in electric bills is staggering. Research at the University of York found that two fifths (43%) of UK households are struggling and spending more than 10% of their household income on energy. Of these, almost 5 million households spend more than 20% of their income on energy, meaning they are in deep fuel poverty.

The situation may be even worse in the manufacturing sector where the highest industrial electricity rates in the world take a steady toll. Of 31 economies surveyed by S&P Global, the UK is experiencing the steepest rate of job losses and the fastest rate of export order losses. Additionally, UK factories reported the highest goods price inflation of all economies surveyed globally, and a supply chain that is suffering more delays than all other economies except war-torn Myanmar.  London columnist Matthew Lynn summed up the situation: “British industry is now in terminal decline, killed by expensive energy”

In essence, the socioeconomic impact of closing coal plants in the EU has led to lower reliability, decreased national security and higher electric rates. Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain and Italy were not mentioned here but follow the same pattern. In Part 2 we will discuss how the repercussions of closing coal not only damage the present but also have bleak implications for the future welfare of the Nations involved. The extensive adverse impacts of the dark path the European Union is pursuing should be ample warning to the United States where coal is the most abundant, secure, reliable and affordable energy resource. Continuing to close coal power plants in the face of exploding demand for electricity would be a foolhardy mistake for which Americans would pay dearly.

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Frank Clemente PhD. specializes in research on the socioeconomic impact of energy policy and is the author of The Global Value of Coal, published by the International Energy Agency (2012). Professor Clemente has served on the faculty of the University of Kentucky, University of Wisconsin and Penn State. He has extensive experience in speaking, writing and presenting data on the value of coal to the United States and the world. All opinions expressed here are presented independently from any university with which he has been affiliated.

Fred Palmer Esq. served as CEO of Western Fuels before he joined Peabody Energy as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs. Palmer was Chair of the World Coal Association Board and a member of the National Coal Council. He received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers Award for “Distinguished Achievement in Coal Technology”.  He also received a Statement of Appreciation from the National Coal Council in 2015 with a plaque for “Guidance since 1990”