Civil groups start campaign in Europe for clean energy

To combat the worsening impacts of climate change and air pollution, civil society groups across 28 European nations on Thursday starting campaigning under Europe Beyond Coal, a collective campaign to move away from coal towards clean renewable energy.

Underscoring the need for this shift, new health impact modelling released by the campaign showed that in 2015, the European Union's coal fleet alone was responsible for an estimated 19,500 premature deaths and 10,000 cases of chronic bronchitis in adults.

Coal's health costs are equally staggering, with up to 54 billion euros in the same one year period, they said.

"Momentum is building for Europe to be coal-free by 2030, and civil society is coming together to make it happen, and happen sooner," Europe Beyond Coal campaign Director Kathrin Gutmann said, according to a statement.

Calling for faster closing of coal plants which are a "liability for all of Europe, and our planet as a whole", she said: "We're calling on governments, cities, companies, banks and investors to cement their plans to move out of coal before the 2018 international climate meeting in Katowice (Poland).

"The UN climate meeting starting in Bonn next week is an excellent opportunity for additional, ambitious commitments to phase out coal."

Since 2016, Europe Beyond Coal groups have helped retire 16 coal plants across Europe and 39 more are to close with the Netherlands, Britain, Finland, France, Portugal and Italy committing to being coal-free by 2030.

The campaign is focussing its efforts on turning these announcements into action and hastening closure of 293 remaining plants.

--IANS

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