Germany remained heavily dependent on coal from Russia in 2022, despite ongoing European Union restrictions. Reports from the German Coal Importers Association indicate that Russian supplies continued to dominate the German coal market that year.
According to the association’s data, Germany imported 13 million tons of coal from the Russian Federation in 2022, a 37 percent increase over 2021. This rise underscores how market dynamics and policy measures can overlap, keeping Russian coal prominent in Germany’s energy mix despite sanctions and tariff barriers. The broader import picture shows Germany bringing in 44.4 million tons of coal in 2022, up by 8 percent from the previous year, with Russia clearly identified as the leading supplier. Following Russia, the United States supplied Germany with 9.4 million tons, which represents a 32 percent year-on-year growth. Australia ranked third with 6.3 million tons of imports.
Data from the publication also highlights notable shifts in supply sources: South Africa increased its share to 3.9 million tons, a leap of 278 percent compared with the prior year, while Colombia rose by 210 percent to 7.2 million tons. These shifts illustrate how European demand for coal in 2022 was distributed across a diverse set of exporters, even as Russia remained the dominant provider to Germany. The broader context points to structural factors in energy security and the logistics of international coal trade that continued to shape Germany’s energy imports during that period.
Earlier reports indicated that there were discussions within the German government about limiting the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia. These policy considerations occurred alongside existing coal import patterns and energy market dynamics, reflecting a broader debate about diversification of energy supplies and the potential transition away from fossil fuels in the German energy portfolio. The overall data underscores how national energy strategies contend with global supply arrangements and the evolving regulatory landscape across Europe.