The European Union (EU) decided to embargo the Russian coal imports, giving rise to higher coal costs and higher electricity prices in the EU.

Before that, the EU imported around 45% of Russian coal each year, and around 70% of the thermal coal used in power generation and heating was imported from Russia. Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands were the biggest buyers.

Currently, the EU intends to purchase coal from other countries such as South Africa in order to solve the energy supply gap. However, the EU importing coal from other countries will lead to higher costs, and the embargo measure also caused the EU region to confront electricity prices skyrocketing.