North Macedonia Sets 2028 Goal For Coal Phaseout

     Some more good news has come out of the Balkans as it relates to climate change. Earlier, I reported on Croatia's setting of an 80 percent carbon neutrality goal by 2050 along with a coal phaseout date. Now, we have similar news from a second country in the region: North Macedonia.

     North Macedonia's government announced a few weeks ago that the nation would phase out coal by 2028, which is well within the timeline provided by the European Union and most environmentalists, who see the right end date for coal as 2030. The reality in Eastern Europe is different because almost all of their energy comes from coal, so the dates in which coal is phased out and carbon neutrality are achieved are much closer together.

     The government also announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 67 percent by 2050. This is not the 2050 carbon neutrality goal we need. However, it is only the second such goal set in the Balkans and is more than the United States has been officially able to commit to. It also leaves room for a more ambitious target in the future; in short, we should merely see this as a first step.

     Another major problem for the region is lignite, a dirty fossil fuel more commonly known as "brown coal," which makes up the bulk of energy consumption that is not black coal. 

     Nonetheless, we are making strides on climate change, and we will not give up until the world has a legally-binding agreement for carbon neutrality at or before mid-century.