On its drive to phase out nuclear energy, Germany increased its reliance on brown coal which is a cheaper and dirtier alternative compared to black coal that emits more greenhouse gases than any other fossil fuel.

CCTV America’s Jack Barton visited Germany where resurgence in coal use has led to a rise in the country’s carbon emissions.

In Germany, coal use, particularly the dirtier lignite variety, has made a strong comeback, rising 13 percent over the past four years. One reason is the decision to phase out nuclear power after Japan’s Fukushima disaster. The Eurozone’s economic crisis put the brakes on industry, undermining the costs of the bloc’s carbon trading scheme.

The results surprised Germany which prides itself on being Europe’s greenest country. Carbon emissions rose by 1.2 percent last year and burning coal in power stations was a major contributor to that rise. Coal mining is continuing to expand, though brown coal use fell four percent this year, while the drop in burning black coal was more than four times larger.