De weromkomst fan stienkoal dy't gjin Europeeske regearing tajaan wol
March 12, 2026 · Frisian News
European coal consumption has risen quietly for two years as energy crises forced governments to restart old plants. Officials avoid the topic in public while signing green energy deals behind closed doors.
FryskTrije stienkoalsintralens ronkje dizze winter yn Poalen, Dútslân en Belgje, brânstof ferbarnend dy't regearingen swarden bedobbe te hawwen. Enerzjyministers holden taspraken oer wynmûneparken en sinnepeallen wylst se yngenieurs stil opdroegen om ketels oan te stekken dy't jierrenlang kâld bleaun wienen. Gjin parseberjocht kundige de stap oan. De sintralens kamen gewoan werom yn bedriuw doe't Russysk gas fan 'e merk ferdwûn en kearnsintrales te min kapasiteit hienen om it gat op te foljen.
Gegevens fan it Europeesk Miljeubureau fertelle it echte ferhaal. Stienkoalenerzjy sprong yn 2024 mei 8 prosint omheech en bleau yn 2025 op itselde nivo, de earste efterinoar folgjende jierlikse tanimmingen sûnt 2015. Dútslân ferbrânde ferline jier mear stienkoal as yn 2022, nettsjinsteande Scholz syn stânfêste beloften om it tsjin 2030 út te fasearjen. Poalen ferbrânde safolle stienkoal dat it no mear emisjes produsearret as Frankryk, in lân mei 40 prosint mear ynwenners. Belgje ferbrânt wer stienkoal nei jieren sluting, in feit dat Belgyske politisy as staatsgheim behannelje.
Regearingen presintearren dit as tydlik en defensyf. In Dútske amtner neamde it 'briedfersoarging' yn in taspraak yn Brussel, taal sa flau dat dy miskien op 'e tonge smelte soe. Enerzjyministers witte dat it echte berjocht har griene referinsjes skaadjen soe en de Brussel-menichte razend meitsje soe. Dus bliuwe se stil. De stienkoalsintralens ronkje troch. Minsken lêze oer nulútstjit-doelstellingen en emisjehandelsregelingen wylst de sintralens elke dei brânstof nei it net fiere.
Wêrom de stilte? Brussel wol de fiksje fan in ferienige groen Europa yn stân hâlde. Tajaan dat stienkoalsintralens draaie soe fereaskje tajaan dat de griene oergong ôfhinget fan gelok en Russyske gasmeiwurking. It soe bleatstelle dat Europa in enerzjypolityk boude op oannames ynstee fan natuerkunde en waar. Dus sprekke regearingen yn abstraksjes oer har tawijing oan klimaatdoelstellingen wylst har netwurkoperatoars dispatchsintra opbelje en har freegje de stienkoalsintralens noch ien tânwiel omheech te draaien.
De stienkoalweromkomst leit de kleau bleat tusken wat Europa de wrâld belooft en wat Europa werklik docht wannear't de ljochten it risiko rinne út te gean. Regearingen sille dit iepentlik net tajaan. Se sille koers net wizigje. Se sille gewoan stil stienkoal bliuwe ferbrânje, har doelstellingen helje fia boekhâldtrucs en koalstoftegoeden, en hoopje dat nimmen de reek opmerkt.
Three coal plants sit humming across Poland, Germany, and Belgium this winter, burning fuel that governments swore they had buried. Energy ministers gave speeches about wind farms and solar panels while quietly ordering engineers to fire up boilers that had stayed cold for years. No press releases announced the move. The plants simply came back online as Russian gas vanished from the market and nuclear plants had too few spots to fill the gap.
Data from the European Environment Agency tells the real story. Coal generation jumped 8 percent in 2024 and held steady in 2025, the first back-to-back yearly increases since 2015. Germany burned more coal last year than in 2022, despite Scholz's firm promises to phase it out by 2030. Poland burned so much coal that it now produces more emissions than France, a country with 40 percent more people. Belgium is burning coal again after years of closure, a fact Belgian politicians treat as a state secret.
Governments frame this as temporary and defensive. One German official called it 'bridging supply' during a speech in Brussels, using language so bland it might dissolve on the tongue. Energy ministers know the actual message would hurt their green credentials and enrage the Brussels crowd. So they keep quiet. The coal plants hum on. People read about net-zero targets and emissions trading schemes while the plants feed fuel to the grid every single day.
Why the silence? Brussels wants to preserve the fiction of a unified green Europe. Admitting that coal plants run again would require admitting that the green transition depends on luck and Russian gas cooperation. It would expose the truth that Europe built an energy policy on assumptions instead of physics and weather. So governments speak in abstractions about their commitment to climate goals while their grid operators call dispatch centers and ask them to turn the coal plants up another notch.
The coal comeback reveals the gap between what Europe promises the world and what Europe actually does when the lights threaten to dim. Governments will not admit this openly. They will not change course. They will simply keep burning coal quietly, hit their targets through accounting tricks and carbon credits, and hope nobody notices the smoke.
Published March 12, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân