Coal in Europe carbon dioxide emissions, has been attacked for its detrimental effects on health. Coal has been linked to acid rain, smog pollution, respiratory diseases, mining accidents, reduced agricultural yields and climate change. Proponents of coal downplay these claims and instead advocate the low cost of using coal for energy. Many European countries, such as Italy, have turned to coal as natural gas and oil prices rose. Coal technology has also advanced over the years, and emissions of soot and gases released in the burning of coal have been greatly reduced. New coal pollution mitigation technology, which often refers to carbon capture
Natural gas and some off-grid engine-generators use natural gas. Particularly high efficiencies can be achieved through combining gas turbines with a steam turbine in combined cycle mode. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fuels, such as oil and coal. Because burning natural gas produces both water and carbon dioxide, it produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy released than coal, which produces mostly carbon dioxide. Burning natural gas produces only about half the carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (kWh) that coal does. For transportation, burning natural gas produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than burning petroleum. The US Energy Information Administration