Expanding renewable energy capacity and fierce competition from gas have eroded European demand for thermal coal over the past decade, amid widespread closures of coal-fired plants to meet climate goals. As such, the region’s thermal coal traders are increasingly focusing on other markets, such as Asia, or branching out into different commodities – including biomass, gas and LNG – as alternative energy sources squeeze fossil fuels from the European power mix. Reporting by Laurence Walker, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Montel. Contributors: Guillaume Perret, Director, Perret Associates; Tomasz Mijal, Managing Director, Bulk Trading Polska; Wendelin Knauss, Trader, Uniper.