2016年度报告Annual Report 2016..

2016年是欧洲在许多层面上发生变化的一年。对煤炭行业而言，随着对煤炭的政治思考在行业内外产生影响，变革的影响变得更加突出。然而，随着变化出现了一些熟悉的控制措施。煤炭行业在欧盟能源结构中的地位保持不变，可靠地供应了约四分之一的欧盟电力。2016年，欧盟开采了3.71亿吨褐煤或褐煤，另有1.67亿吨进口煤补充了8700万吨硬煤产量。煤炭仍然是欧盟的一项重要业务。1897年，马克吐温的讣告在一家美国报纸上错误地发表了。今天，我们在《纽约时报》、《明镜周刊》、《英国卫报》和许多其他报纸上看到了煤炭即将消亡的消息。用吐温先生的话来说，需要说的是，“关于煤炭死亡的报道被大大夸大了”，如今的煤炭工业是一个每年70至80亿吨的庞然大物，供应着全球40%以上的电力。在某种程度上，世界上所有的钢铁都是用煤从铁矿石中生产出来的。2016年11月4日，《巴黎协定》生效，这是在欧盟批准这项国际协定30天后，从而使签署国数目超过了商定的门槛。在全球范围内，人们可以看到推动能源部门采用新技术实现现代化，这一切都是为了响应实现我们的气候目标的首要政治要求，而不太重视竞争性市场。在全球煤炭工业中，关于高效、低排放（HELE）技术和碳捕集和储存（CCS）的讨论，以及对煤和捕获二氧化碳（CCU）在化学品和燃料中的替代用途的讨论。此外，随着可再生能源份额的增长，传统的火力发电在平衡风能和太阳能等间歇性可再生能源方面的作用变得更加重要。煤炭不会消失，煤炭行业为其在全世界提供的电力比任何其他能源都要多而自豪。在所有的基本商品中，电力是最文明的。然而，该行业被指责通过空气污染导致气候变化和过早死亡，尽管这些环境影响的解决方案即将出台。那么问题是，是否应该优先考虑这些解决方案的实施，而这些解决方案的实施都要付出社会必须承担的代价。在欧洲，燃煤电厂的二氧化硫、氮氧化物和粉尘排放量自1990以来大幅减少，并将继续降至非常低的水平。自20世纪70年代以来，经合组织成员国的煤炭使用量不断增长，人均寿命从70岁提高到80岁。使用更多的煤有助于减少能源贫困和改善许多人的生活条件。根据欧盟对收入和生活条件的官方调查，随着能源价格的上涨，欧盟的能源贫困正在加剧，影响到5400万公民，约占总人口的10%。在电价成为政治关注对象的成员国，煤炭的可承受性往往使其成为发电的首选燃料。虽然煤炭在整个欧盟都很重要，但对许多成员国来说，煤炭至关重要。丹麦三分之一的电力和德国近一半的电力来自煤炭——在布鲁塞尔你很少听到这些事实。保加利亚、希腊和捷克共和国大约一半的电力来自煤炭和褐煤。在波兰，超过80%的发电依赖于煤炭和褐煤。然而，根据《巴黎协定》和欧盟的严格气候目标，煤炭、石油和天然气被视为过渡化石燃料，因为它们最终与低碳、气候友好型经济体格格不入。

The year 2016 was a year of change in Europe on  many levels. For the coal industry, change took on  a larger profile as political thinking towards coal  had repercussions within the sector and beyond.  Yet, with change came some familiar refrains. The coal sector retains its position in the EU  energy mix, reliably suppling around one quarter  of EU electricity. In 2016, the EU mined  371 million tonnes of brown coal or lignite, while  87 million tonnes of hard coal production were  supplemented by a further 167 million tonnes of  imported coal. Coal remains an important  business in the EU. In 1897, Mark Twain’s obituary was published – by mistake – in an American newspaper. Today, we  read in the New York Times, in Der Spiegel, in the  UK Guardian and in many other newspapers of the  imminent demise of coal. It needs to be said, in  Mr. Twain’s words, “The reports of coal’s death  are greatly exaggerated.” The coal industry today  is a seven- to eight-billion tonne per year behemoth that supplies over 40% of global  electricity. All of the world’s iron and steel has, at  some point, been produced from iron ore using  coal. On 4 November 2016, the Paris Agreement  entered into force, thirty days after the EU had  ratified this international accord and thus taking  the number of signatories above the agreed  threshold. Around the world, one can see a push  to modernise the energy sector with new  technologies, all in response to the overarching  political imperative to meet our climate targets,  with less emphasis on competitive markets. In the  global coal industry, discussions on highefficiency, low-emission (HELE) technologies and  carbon capture and storage (CCS) intensified, as  well as on alternative uses of coal and captured  carbon dioxide (CCU) in chemicals and fuels, for  example. Moreover, the role of conventional  thermal power generation to balance intermittent  renewables, such as wind and solar, became more  important as the share of renewables grew. Coal is not about to go away and the industry  stands proud in the knowledge that coal provides  more electricity around the world than any other  energy source. Of all the basic commodities,  electricity is the most civilising. Yet, the industry is  accused of causing climate change and premature  deaths through air pollution, even though  solutions to these environmental impacts are to  hand. The question then is whether to prioritise  implementation of these solutions which all come  at a cost that society must bear. In Europe, emissions of sulphur dioxide, oxides of  nitrogen and dust from coal-fired power plants  have been massively reduced since 1990, and will  continue to be reduced to very low levels. Since  the 1970s, coal use has grown in the OECD  countries, while life expectancy has risen from  seventy years to eighty years. Using more coal  has helped to reduce energy poverty and improve  the living conditions of many people. According to  the official EU survey of income and living  conditions, energy poverty in the EU is rising with  rising energy prices, affecting 54 million citizens or  around 10% of the total population. Coal’s  affordability often makes it the fuel of choice for electricity generation in those member states  where electricity prices are the subject of political  attention. While coal is important across the EU, for many  member states it is essential. A third of  Denmark’s electricity and almost half of  Germany’s electricity comes from coal – facts that  you will rarely hear in Brussels. Around half of  electricity in Bulgaria, Greece and the Czech  Republic is generated from coal and lignite. In  Poland, over 80% of electricity generation  depends on coal and lignite. Yet, in light of the Paris Agreement and the EU’s  tough climate targets, coal, oil and natural gas are  viewed as transition fossil fuels, because they are  ultimately incompatible with a low-carbon,  climate-friendly economy.