Number of European countries that do not have coal in their energy mix or have stopped using coal based generation: Albania, Austria and Sweden (free since 2020), Belgium (free since 2016), Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, and Switzerland have no coal plants.

Austria: Power utility EVN announced late May 2019 that it will shut down its 405 MW Dürnrohr plant in the Zwentendorf district five years ahead of schedule (planned for 2025). The country’s other remaining coal plant, the 246 MW Mellach facility near Graz, was planned to close in 2020. On 12 Jun 2020, Verbund AG, Austria’s leading electricity company, closed its Mellach coal-fired power plant, marking the end of the fossil fuel era for the country.

France:Year by when the last coal power station in France will be shut down. In an address on 06 Jul 2017, France’s environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, said that the country would aim to phase out electricity from coal-fired plants by 2022 and end the sale of gas and diesel internal combustion cars by 2040. French President Emmanuel Macron pledges to shut all of his country’s coal-fired power plants by 2021 at the WEF in Jan 2018. In 2019, 0.3% of generation was from coal, so Macron’s choice to move this date up is largely symbolic of the new leadership position that France is taking in combating climate change.

Sweden: Stockholm Exergi AB’s Värtaverket power plant was shutdown in Apr 2020, 2 years ahead of the schedule coal phase out in Sweden. The country became the 3rd country in Europe, after Austria and Belgium to have zero coal-powered electric plants.

Portugal: Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa used his October 2019 inauguration speech to announce that the country’s last coal plant will close by 2023, bringing the phase-out forward by seven years. Only 2 plants are currently in operation - Sines (1.3 GW) and Pego (618 MW). Planned closures for these plants: Pego in 2021 and Sines in 2023.

Slovakia: At the One Planet summit in December in Paris, Environment Minister László Sólymos declared 2023 as the target year for Slovakia’s coal phase-out in both the mining and power sectors. The environment ministry’s draft environmental strategy 2030, released the same week, argues for a “progressive phase-out of power and heat production from coal” due to local air pollution, calling Slovakia’s annual €100 million subsidies for coal power “environmentally damaging”. Slovakian president Zuzana Čaputová reaffirms commitment for a 2023 phase out in Jun 2019.

Great Britain: Year by when the last coal power station in Britain will be forced to close. The phase out year was brought forward from 2025 by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Feb 2020. As of Apr 2020 only 4 plants remain operational: West Burton A and Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal plants in Nottinghamshire, the Kilroot coal plant in Northern Ireland and two generation units at the Drax site in Yorkshire.

Hungary: Hungary’s Secretary of State for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy, Attila Steiner, at a meeting of the Powering Past Coal Alliance in Mar 2021 announced advancing the phase out year by 5. The President of Hungary, János Áder, had originally announced the phase out year as 2030 during the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on on 24 Sep 2019. To achieve this, Hungary will maintain its existing nuclear power capacity of around two gigawatts (GW) while increasing its production of solar energy to six GW. The country has just 1 operational plant left - the 950 MW Matra power plant. Once the plant is shuttered, a 200 megawatt (MW) solar farm is planned for the same site,

Ireland: Year by which the last of its coal based power plant - the 900 MW ESB Moneypoint generation station - would be shut down. Ireland's Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten confirmed the decision on 13 Mar 2018.

Italy: Italian Industry Minister announced on 24 Oct 2017 that the country had set its sights on phasing out coal power plants. A new energy strategy, still under discussion, aims to reach the goal of 27 percent of gross overall energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.

Greece: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the phase out year during the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on on 24 Sep 2019.

Canada:Year by when 90 per cent of Canada's electricity will come from sustainable sources, up from 80 per cent now. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced this 21 Nov 2016.

Denmark: Currently it has three power stations that utilize coal. The Esbjerg Power Station is set to stop using coal by 2023, the facility in Nordjylland will follow suit by 2028, and the station in Fyn will do so by 2030.

Netherlands: Coalition agreement as part of Mark Rutte’s centre-right government re-confirmed the nation will shut down its remaining 5 coal plants which will help the country reduce its carbon emissions by 55%. A non-binding motion by the Dutch parliament passed on 22 Sep 2016 to this effect. On 02 Apr 2020, Dutch cabinet agreed to scale back production at 3 of the plants.

Finland: Economy Minister Olli Rehn announced a plan for complete phase out on 03 Nov 2016. A legislative proposal to prohibit the use of coal in heat production by 01 May 2019 was presented to parliament on 16 Oct 2018. Coal accounted for 9% of Finland's energy mix as of Sep 2016.

New Zealand: The country's new elected government, with Jacinda Ardern as the world’s youngest female leader, announced its aim set this year as target to switch over the country's electricity grid entirely to renewables.

Germany: A government-appointed commission announced the country's coal phase out plan on 26 Jan 2019. The keenly awaited deal, calls for massive financial transfers - worth €40bn over the next 20 years - to regions in Germany where coal mining and coal power still play a significant role.

South Africa: Year by when the country aims to eliminate 80% of its coal based generation capacity. In 2017, coal produced 88% of the country’s electricity. As of July 2018, South Africa has 42GW of operating coal plants, the seventh largest fleet in the world, according to the Global Coal Plant Tracker.

Ukraine: Plans for phasing out of coal powered plants were outlined by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine as part of the country's new Concept of Green Energy Transition of Ukraine by 2050 (Ukraine Green Deal). The plan announced on 24 Jan 2020, sets a target for Ukraine becoming carbon neutral by 2050 to tackle climate change and to reach net-zero emissions only in 2070.

Spain. The final energy and climate plan (NECP) was submitted to the European Commission in March 2020. The country has seen a rapid decline of coal power generation in 2019 and 2020. A set of seven coal plants stopped operating on 30 June 2020 and one announced to retire (5.1 GW out of 9.9 GW), the seven being unable to comply with stricter EU air pollution standards, which applied as of Q3/2020. Closure announcements and generation trends indicate that Spain will be coal power free by the mid-2020s or even earlier. On 30 Jun 2021, Spain joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance and affirmed a date for closing all coal plants by 2030.

North Macedonia joined the the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 30 Jun 2021 and committed to close its two coal plants by this year.

Montenegro joined the the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 30 Jun 2021 and committed to phase out coal by this year. The plan overshoots UN Paris climate agreement compatibility by five years though.