Production at the Saint-Avold power plant (Moselle), one of the last two coal-fired power plants in operation in France with that of Cordemais (Loire-Atlantique), resumed on November 12 as the winter period approaches. Despite the minimal contribution of coal to the French electricity mix, this information moved many observers, at the start of COP29, because of the climate impact of this energy source.
Coal in the global energy mix
Coal accounted for 26.5% of global primary energy consumption in 2023 according to the latest data from the Statistical Review of World Energymaking it the second source of energy behind oil (31.7%) but ahead of natural gas (23.3%).
And above all, coal is by far the main source of electricity in the world (35.2% of the global electricity mix in 2023). In France, coal accounted for less than 0.2% of electricity production in 2023 according to RTE.
Greenhouse gas emissions linked to coal
In 50 years, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to energy combustion have increased by 2.2, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Coal combustion alone is responsible for 43%(1) of these global greenhouse gas emissions linked to energy combustion and so-called “fugitive” emissions (unintentional, leaks) in 2022, compared to 34% for oil and 13% for natural gas.
CO emission factors2 coal
CO emissions factors2 designate “ the quantity of CO2 emitted during the combustion of a given fuel and for a unit of energy », recalls the minister in charge of energy(2).
According to the IPCC, the combustion of a tonne of coal (coking, sub-bituminous) emits around 4 tonnes of CO2 By tapeor even up to 4.2 t CO2/toe in the case of lignite (energy-poor coal), compared to around 3.1 t CO2/toe for crude oil and 2.3 t CO2/toe for natural gas.
The emission factor relating to electricity production is often discussed. According to Ademe (Empreinte base), this emission factor (also integrating average emissions upstream and downstream of production) amounts to 1.06 t CO2/MWh, obviously 1 060 g de CO2 per kWh for a coal-fired power plant, compared to 418 g CO2/kWh for a gas plant and 37 g CO2/kWh for a nuclear power plant(3).
In the EU, average CO emissions2 for the production of 1 kWh of electricity were around 275 g CO2/kWh in 2022. This level is much higher in countries whose electricity mixes rely heavily on coal, for example in Germany (399 g CO2/kWh in 2022) or in Poland (722 g CO2/kWh) whose average emissions per kWh are approximately 10 times higher than in France (73 g CO2/kWh).
