In recent years, many European countries have made great efforts to develop new energy, and the proportion of coal-fired power in the energy structure has been shrinking. However, with the substantial reduction of natural gas supply in Russia, Germany, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands and other European countries recently announced that they would reopen coal-fired power plants or take measures to support coal-fired power. Analysts believe that European countries have no choice but to turn to coal-fired power. Russia is the largest supplier of natural gas and crude oil to the EU. After the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the EU has continuously upgraded its sanctions against Russia, exacerbating the energy shortage in European countries. On the 19th of this month, the German Federal Ministry of economy and climate protection issued a statement saying that in order to cope with the sharp reduction of Russian natural gas supply, Germany will take a series of emergency measures, including restricting the use of natural gas for power generation and turning to more use of coal-fired power. "This is painful, but it is a necessary measure to reduce natural gas consumption," said habek, Vice Chancellor and Minister of economy and climate protection of Germany He said that in order to avoid difficulties in heating in winter, Germany should not only save natural gas, but also put the backup coal-fired power station into operation as soon as possible. Analysts believe that the German government's move is contrary to its previous plan to phase out coal-fired power. According to the joint ruling agreement of the current federal government, Germany will advance the time of eliminating coal-fired power from 2038 to 2030 "ideally". Habek's Green Party advocates stopping coal mining and calls for the closure of all existing coal-fired power plants. Coincidentally, on the 19th of this month, the Austrian government also announced the reopening of a coal-fired power plant in the southern city of Merah to deal with energy shortages. Previously, the Austrian government had proposed to fully realize clean energy supply by 2030. The meirah coal power plant was shut down in the spring of 2020. It is the last coal power plant in the country. The Greek government recently announced that in order to ensure the stability of energy supply, the country will increase its coal production capacity by 50% by 2024. Last year, the proportion of coal-fired power in Greece's energy structure dropped sharply from 53% in 2011 to about 10%. As the energy crisis continues to ferment and natural gas prices soar, the Greek government has decided to suspend the closure of more coal-fired power plants and postpone the elimination of coal-fired power from 2025 to 2028. In the Netherlands, the consumption of coal-fired power has been decreasing in recent years. At present, there are only three coal-fired power plants in the country. In 2021, the Dutch government requires that the actual generating capacity of the three coal-fired power plants should not exceed 35% of their generating capacity. However, the Dutch government recently announced that in order to alleviate the shortage of natural gas and avoid heating difficulties in winter, the three coal-fired power plants have been approved to operate at full power immediately. Poland's coal-fired power accounts for about 70%, the highest among EU countries. At the same time, one third of Polish households use coal for heating. Poland banned the import of Russian coal in April, resulting in coal shortages and soaring prices. Recently, the Polish government announced the introduction of a coal subsidy policy for ordinary families and imported coal from Colombia, Australia and South Africa to make up for the gap of more than 8million tons of coal caused by the ban on the import of Russian coal. Tim McPhee, spokesman for climate action and energy affairs of the European Commission, recently admitted that due to new changes in the energy pattern in Europe, the energy structure and related plans of EU Member States will be adjusted, including restarting some coal production capacity. Analysts believe that the shift to coal-fired power will disrupt the new energy development plans of European countries, and will inevitably have an adverse impact on the EU's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. (Xinhua News Agency)