Energy

Stiff competition among coal-fired power plant operators has driven down the total of compensation payments to be disbursed in the first round of auctions under the country’s hard coal phase-out scheme.

Campaigners have attacked a government body tasked with deciding how and when the Czech coal industry should end.

The German government’s plans to compensate hard coal power plants that shut down early to meet its climate objectives have been given the green light by the European Commission.

Europe’s major renewable energy associations have united to support the growth of green hydrogen, in apparent reaction to the formation of a rival body with links to fossil fuel producers.

The vast majority of EU member states must phase out coal power by the end of the decade, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said, as new research indicates the aim is eminently feasible.