EU fossil fuel burning for electricity fell to lowest on record in 2023, data shows

Drop in first half of year driven by fall in demand and some growth in clean power, study says

The European Union is stoking its power plants with fewer lumps of coal and barrels of oil and gas than it has ever recorded, data shows.

The 27 member states burned 17% less fossil fuel to make electricity between January and June 2023 than over the same period the year before, a study from the clean energy thinktank Ember found. The EU made 410TWh of electricity from sources that release planet-heating gases, which analysts say is the lowest level since 2015 - the first year for which they have monthly data - and very likely" since 2000.