Europe and
the United States
relied on coal to
power electric lights
in the late 1800s.
China, India,
Indonesia, Pakistan,
and the Philippines
are now doing the same.
The average person
in those Asian countries
uses much less electricity
than the average American.
Because half of
the world’s population
lives in this region,
it takes a lot of coal
to provide reliable
electric power.
Projections of coal use
depends a lot on what
China and India do.
Five years ago
China appeared to be
moving away from coal,
at a moderate rate.
In recent years,
China seemed
to move toward
more coal use.
Both China and india
have urban pollution
problems that suggest
coal is a bad choice ...
but modern coal plants
are cleaner than old
coal plants, and they
still provide cheap,
reliable energy.
Many people think
coal use is dying.
Coal use is not dying.
It's moving to Asia.
A December 2019
report from the
International Energy
Association reveals
how much coal
is used for
electric power
in Asian countries.
The world burns
65% more coal today
than it did in 2000.
Coal accounts for 40%
of all greenhouse gas
emissions.
Natural gas
and renewables
are replacing
many coal plants
in the U.S.
and Europe.
Total global coal
consumption
would be falling.
… if not for China,
India, Indonesia,
Vietnam, and
many smaller
Asian countries,
where coal use
is rising
fast enough
to offset
coal plant
closures
elsewhere.
The
"end of coal"
was once
prematurely
announced
after coal use
shrank for three
consecutive years
in the late 1990s.
Then, from
1999 to 2013,
coal use
grew more
more than
it had
in the prior
90 years.
Coal use drove up
atmospheric particulates
that affect Delhi, Jakarta
and other large Asian cities.
Coal also fueled
economic growth,
and lifted people
out of poverty,
Every
country
is building
natural gas plants,
solar panels, and
wind turbines.
Most have
also decided
that coal
makes sense
too.