Record Coal Use Contradicts ‘Net Zero’

 FULL  ARTICLE  HERE:

https://www.masterresource.org/coal/record-coal-2021-2022/

Ye Editor's Selected Key Points:

"The climate debate is over except for all the shouting, politicking, and business rent-seeking.

 It is okay to right-size the climate-change exaggerations now that the world is moving past the “net zero” mirage.

COP27, to be held in Egypt next November, is in big trouble in this regard.

Climate optimists say: bring on the next 1.5°C and watch the energy-rich world adapt and prosper.

 “The pledges to reach net zero emissions made by many countries, including China and India, should have very strong implications for coal –

but these are not yet visible in our near-term forecast, reflecting the major gap between ambitions and action.” (International Energy Agency)

... The coal boom has been an ‘open secret’ all along. ...

    Home to half the world’s population, Asia accounts for three-fourths of global coal consumption today.

More important, it accounts for more than three-fourths of coal plants that are either under construction or in the planning stages — a whopping 1,200 of them….”

... The amount of electricity generated worldwide from coal is surging towards a new annual record in 2021, undermining efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potentially putting global coal demand on course for an all-time high next year, the International Energy Agency said in its latest annual market report.

... The rebound is being driven by this year’s rapid economic recovery, which has pushed up electricity demand much faster than low-carbon supplies can keep up.

The steep rise in natural gas prices has also increased demand for coal power by making it more cost-competitive.   

... overall coal demand could reach new all-time highs as soon as 2022 ...

“Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emissions, and this year’s historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put emissions into decline towards net zero,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

... In China, where more than half of global coal-fired electricity generation takes place, coal power is expected to grow by 9% in 2021 despite a deceleration at the end of the year.

In India, it is forecast to grow by 12%.

This would set new all-time highs in both countries, even as they roll out impressive amounts of solar and wind capacity.

While coal power generation is set to increase by almost 20% this year in the United States and the European Union, that is not enough to take it above 2019 levels.

.. In 2021, coal prices were lifted further by demand outstripping supply in China – the global coal price setter – as well as by supply disruptions and higher natural gas prices globally.

Coal prices reached all-time highs in early October 2021, with imported thermal coal in Europe, for example, hitting USD 298 per tonne.

Quick policy intervention by the Chinese government to balance the market had a rapid effect on prices.

As of mid-December, European prices were back below USD 150 per tone."