The use of coal in energy generation in Europe rose over 11% last year, while gas-fired generation dropped by 1% over high fuel prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new quarterly report.

In 2020, fall of natural gas prices prompted many regions of the world, including Europe, to reduce usage of coal in energy production, the IEA said. But the trend started to change in the second half of 2020, when prices for gas began the upward movement. "In the second half of 2021 rising prices worked against the use of gas in power generation. Coal-fired generation grew by over 11% in Europe in 2021, while gas-fired generation declined by 1%," the report said.

In the first six months of last year, the global demand for gas was steadily growing and demonstrated a 7% year-over-year increase, the IEA experts found.

"However, the progressive tightening of supply-demand fundamentals and resulting increase in natural gas prices had negative impacts on demand during the second half of the year, leading to a slowdown in growth, fuel switching and in some cases demand destruction. This resulted in an estimated 4.6% y-o-y [year-over-year] increase in gas consumption for the whole of 2021," the report read.

The second half of 2021 brought Europe an energy crisis provoked by a spike in natural gas prices, fueled by high energy demand for a post-lockdown economic recovery and limited supply. (ANI/Sputnik)