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The European Commission is seeking approval among its members for more sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on buying coal and banning Russian ships from entering the bloc’s ports.
That the European Union decides to stop buying coal from Russia would be the first blow to that country’s energy sector, on which it depends so much. But in the West they also see it as a golden opportunity for the big producers of this mineral.
European buyers are looking for energy substitutes around the world, at a time of uncertainty over future gas deliveries from Russia later this month after the Kremlin’s demand that they start paying in rubles.
The European Commission proposed new sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and coal is one of the main targets of the punishment, although the bloc has apparently already been preparing.
In March 2022, European countries imported a total of 7.1 million tons of thermal coal, which is used in power generation, with a year-on-year increase of 40.5% and the highest level since March 2019, according to an analysis of the Braemar ACM maritime corridor.
“Despite Russian coal shipments to Europe in March continuing at pre-war levels, the expected disruption in coal flows to Europe has started to show,” said Mark Nugent, cargo analyst at Braemar.
Colombia and the United States, among the substitute suppliers
“Shipments from Colombia and the US have been strong in response to the conflict, with Atlantic suppliers providing a more cost-effective alternative for European end-users,” Nugent added.
Indeed, thermal coal imports from Colombia rose 47.3% year-on-year in March, according to Braemar, while those from the United States grew 30.3% year-on-year and are at their highest level since October 2019.
For its part, Europe began buying coal from South Africa in March, and Australia found renewed European interest in its ore. Neither of these two countries had shipments in March 2021.
Although it is still more expensive to burn gas than coal to produce energy, the price of thermal mineral – which is used for heating and power generation – reached record highs this year.
The war reignited the debate over non-renewable energy sources
Beyond Europe’s dependence on Russian energy sources, there are those who believe that the underlying debate should focus on dependence on fossil fuels in general.
Europe’s energy generation basket is made up of almost 60% oil and natural gas, 12.7% nuclear power, just over 17% renewable sources and around 10% coal.
Changing this proportion will not happen in a short time, although European leaders have committed to seeking not only substitute sources of energy generation, but also new suppliers for their current electricity generation, which is closely tied to fossil fuels.
With Reuters, AP
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