In their paper, Ben Gales (University of Groningen) and Rick Hölgens (Central Scientific Institute of the Technical University of Dortmund) look at the "Coal Transition in the Netherlands" as part of: "An historical case study for the project "Coal Transitions: Research and Dialogue on the Future of Coal".

Authors conclude: "With the increasing availability of cheap oil, and especially the domestic discovery of Europe’s largest natural gas field, the Netherlands seemed to transition away from coal fully and at a rapid pace during the 1960s. The domestic mines were all closed within 10 years and 75,000 jobs had to be created. Coal came back in the 1970s. The domestic mines did not open again, while unconventional mining, gasification, remained a fata morgana. Coal was imported. Since the 1980s, the Netherlands has consumed a fairly stable amount of 350-400 PJ, roughly 12-13% of the total consumption of energy since 2000."

COAL TRANSITIONS is a large-scale research project leaded by Climate Strategies and The Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and funded by the KR Foundation.

The project’s main objective is to conduct research and policy dialogue on the issue of managing the transition within the coal sector in major coal using economies, as is required if climate change is to be successfully limited to 2°C.

More information:

• Contact: dr. Ben Gales
• Download the full publication at: https://coaltransitions.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/coal_nl_v04.pdf