The Czech Republic is taking the same approach to ending its reliance on coal as Germany, setting its target date for the end of mining for 2038. But Hospodarske noviny reports that despite the fact that the decision was reached by a high level commission set up to study the issue, the date has pleased almost no one. Coal companies as well as a variety of industrial representatives complain that the date is too soon, whereas environmental groups who warn that in the interest of reducing carbon emissions, the transformation should happen far sooner. “It’s not just a compromise between all groups that were working on the Coal Commission, but it’s based on rather clear economic, technological and ecological arguments in the sense of building new power sources,” claims Industry Minister Karel Havlicek. He was referring in part to the construction of a new nuclear power block in the Dukovany power plant, which is planned for completion around the same time. But there are other risks as well. Hospodarske noviny cites a study by Bloomberg which predicts that a large portion of the coal-powered plants will soon be loss-making because of the rising cost of emissions permits. The Czech Coal Commission predicted the price would be €30 per ton by 2030, but Bloomberg warns the price is likely to be three times that much. The result is that there’s a realistic chance that energy companies could be forced to shut down their power plants long before 2038 because they’re unable or unwilling to cover the operational losses.
