Officials are shielding the coal industry from tens of millions of euros in mandatory water bills while making the public pay, an investigation has revealed.

The hidden subsidies are distorting the market and supporting a major polluter of the climate, air and water just as governments agree further action against climate heating, warned the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

The NGO spent months analysing opaque data on water use for a report published today called Mind The Gap, Mapping hidden subsidies for the coal and lignite industry. The report focuses on Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, Europe’s top three producers of lignite, a particularly harmful form of coal. It found that governments are failing to impose annual fees worth an estimated €54 million per year, as required under the EU Water Framework Directive. The figure is based on comparable fees paid in the minority of territories that do require industry to pay. The total amount is higher when the coal sector beyond lignite is included.

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