The European Association for Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL) today elected Dr. Zygmunt Łukaszczyk as its new President. He succeeds Mr. Paweł Smoleń who is now a partner responsible for energy and resources at Deloitte Business Consulting S.A. Dr. Łukaszczyk, a Polish national and Chairman of the Board at Katowicki Holding Węglowy S.A. (KHW), brings his extensive experience of the coal industry and policy issues to the Association which is the “voice of coal” in Europe.
Prof. Franz-Josef Wodopia, representing the German hard coal sector, and Mr. Nigel Yaxley, representing UK coal importers, were both re-elected as Vice Presidents and are joined by newly elected Mr. Vladimír Budinský, representing the Czech Association of Employers in Mining Industry (ZSDNP).
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Exploiting natural resources creates jobs and adds to economic wealth. It always has and always will. In the EU, the most abundant energy resource is coal. In these times of austerity and high unemployment, the EU can look forward to a future fuelled by coal, not dirty old coal of the past, but with modern clean coal technologies fit for the 21st century and in use today in Europe.
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The aim of the International Coal Dialogue was to explore with EURACOAL member DTEK what steps Ukraine is taking to secure its coal supply. The meeting was organised in co-operation with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), specifically with the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI).
Until now, Ukraine has been self-sufficient in coal. In 2013, the country produced over 60 million tonnes and production was maintained during the first half of 2014. However, since June 2014, coal output has been decimated by separatist fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Production from 66 coal mines has been lost, with just 60 left in production today. MEP Andrej Plenković, Chair of the EU-Ukraine Delegation, lived through war in Croatia and warned of the destructive consequence if the Minsk ceasefire was not respected. He called on the European Commission to consolidate the peace process.
A particularly serious problem highlighted at the meeting was the sourcing of anthracite on the international market. High-quality local anthracite is used at around half of Ukraine’s thermal power plants. Germany is a producer, but there are few others – Russia being the biggest outside of China. However, the maximum monthly supply from Russia is perhaps 700-750 thousand tonnes – not enough to replace the two million tonnes lost.
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Reliable energy. Recultivating land. Repurposing sites. Reducing methane. Researching for the future.
