In 2024, EU coal production and consumption fell to their lowest recorded levels, reaching 242 million tonnes and 306 million tonnes, respectively. Compared with 2023, the consumption fell by 13% and the production by 12%. This came after a record year-on-year decrease between 2022 and 2023 when production fell by 21% and consumption by 23%.

Russia loses its position as the EU’s main hard coal supplier
In recent years, there has been a significant reshuffling among the main suppliers of coal to the EU. Net imports of hard coal from Russia plummeted by 98% between 2021 and 2023. This decline was a consequence of the EU’s ban on hard coal imports from Russia, which came into force in August 2022, following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

In 2023, 90% of hard coal net imports originated from 5 countries: Australia and the United States (both 25%), Colombia (18%), South Africa (14%) and Kazakhstan (9%).

In 2023, the EU’s import dependency rate for hard coal reached 67%. This dependency rate remains below the ones for oil and natural gas (95% and 90%, respectively).
Source: Eurostat