Reversing history? Under the shortage of natural gas, European power suppliers began to snap up coal.

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As natural gas shortages have led to soaring electricity prices in many parts of Europe, local utilities seem to have to "reverse history" and snap up coal, which is now regarded as the "dirtiest fossil fuel".

According to traders on globalCOALl, a global coal electronic trading platform, a shipment of coal due to be delivered at one of Europe's major hubs next month will trade at a price as high as $200 a tonne, the highest level since 2008. Several European utilities have entered the coal market this week to secure supplies before the start of winter, the traders said. The traders spoke on condition of anonymity because the trades were conducted in private.

Although there are still a few months to go before winter, with Europe's natural gas reserves drying up, local people seem to have felt in advance the chill of "winter is coming"-an energy crisis is likely to sweep across the continent.

Replenishing these natural gas stocks will not be easy, and supplies from Russia and Norway are limited this year, forcing Europe to compete with Asia for liquefied natural gas in the spot market. At the same time, the lack of wind power has exacerbated the continent's energy woes, prompting many utilities to turn to dirtier fossil fuels to make up for supply shortages.

"We have noticed that the coal market is also starting to be a little tight," Marco Saalfrank, head of business trading in continental Europe at Axpo Solutions AG, said at the Gastech summit in Dubai this week. The profits of coal-fired power plants have turned positive and production has begun to increase at the same time. "

The surge in energy prices comes as Europe tries to broker a more ambitious climate deal at the UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year. The return of coal is likely to be criticized by politicians in countries such as the UK, Spain and Italy during the conference, while on the other hand, they will have to cope with voter opposition caused by rising energy bills.

Not only did spot coal prices rise, but coal futures for delivery next year surged 4.1 per cent to $139 a tonne, the highest level since 2008, according to traders. Increased demand for utilities is draining inventories at European ports.

At present, coal supplies have fallen as major coal producers Colombia and Indonesia have been hit by torrential rains, while some mines in other areas have also been closed because of the epidemic. Investment in new mining projects has almost stagnated in recent years, and banks have cut back on lending to coal companies as the world seeks to avoid the worst effects of climate change. "like the natural gas market, coal stocks across Europe are very low and coal supplies from Russia have recently declined," Energi Danmark, the trading group, said in a recent report.