"Energy You Want?: Vattenfall's Dark Side," Apr 2016

Lignite, also called “brown coal”…results in the highest CO2 emissions per unit of energy generated. From a climate perspective, lignite is the very worst fuel and…is incompatible with a 2°C…scenario…Vattenfall still owns 5 huge open-pit lignite mines and 4 lignite-fired power stations in…east German[y]…This is due to soon change…[b]ut instead of beginning to phase-out…these CO2 factories, Vattenfall has opted to sell its lignite assets…The…new owners intention is to prolong the lifetimes of these plants for as long as possible. The fact that Vattenfall is now congratulating itself on the decrease of CO2 emissions in its future portfolio is a spectacular display of autism, because for the EU’s climate goals this sale is poison…In Germany and the Netherlands, Vattenfall owns 7 coal power…stations, which are fired with hard coal, also known as “black coal”.…Vattenfall…through its fuel and freight business…also sells hard coal on the international market…While Vattenfall is poised to shed its brown coal assets, its black coal business remains as active as ever…