INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
most to planet-warming emissions is undergoing a renaissance
Consumption has surged in Europe to replace shortfalls in hydro, nuclear and Russian gas, while top producer China is extracting record
volumes from mines to insulate itself from volatile global energy markets.
Prices of exported coal have skyrocketed to records and futures
And while plans for spending on new mines and power plants are a fraction of what they were a few years ago, that companies are still
investing in new projects at all is alarming to climate scientists who say the fuel needs to be phased out by 2040 to avoid the worst
effects of climate change
As politicians and activists gather in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh this weekend to consolidate the work of Glasgow, Paris and
at the moment about whether coal will set a new record this year, whether gas will set a new record and whether power sector-emissions will
That means that this is far more than a blip
environmentalists, this year has not only been profitable but also a rare and welcome chance to remind the world of the value of the cheap
26 investor meeting, after the producer posted record annual earnings this year
Cheap to mine, easy to transport and simple to burn, it powered the world into the industrial age as it blackened skies and choked lungs
Even after technology reduced direct air pollution, coal continued to be the leading source of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as it
releases more carbon dioxide than oil or natural gas, and mining it unleashes torrents of even-more-potent methane.
In order for the world
to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency says coal power plants need to be eliminated in developed nations by
2030 and in the rest of the world by 2040
And yet hundreds of billions of dollars are forecast to be invested in new coal assets through the middle of the century, and key nations
like China and India are forging ahead with plans to roll-out vast new power plant capacity.
Last year was supposed to be the beginning of
the end for the dirty fuel
Consumption had declined in both 2019 and 2020
when they met in Glasgow in November.
Instead, a strong industrial rebound from the pandemic drove coal consumption to a record
available to keep their economies humming
Coal power generation rose about 1% over the previous year through August, according to data from Ember
In China, a historic drought in July and August sapped reservoirs of its massive dams, requiring a surge in coal consumption to fill the
In the US, coal power plant retirements are being delayed and production of the fuel will increase 3.5% this year as miners seek to meet
been tied to droughts that have reduced hydropower generation and left river levels too low for nuclear power plants to operate at full
emissions from the power sector rise to a new high this year, according to Ember
UN climate scientists have warned that they have to be cut in half by 2030 to be on path to limit rising temperatures to about 1.5 Celsius
above pre-industrial times
Biggest Source of Clean Energy Is Evaporating Fast
Surging demand has boosted prices for coal to record levels, with benchmark Newcastle
coal futures trading around $360 a ton, about six times higher than they were two years ago
Forward contracts are currently trading at above $260 a ton through 2027
Coal India Ltd., a top global producer, saw profit nearly triple
billion.
Investors have paid attention
Shares for miners like Glencore and Australia-based New Hope Corp
have risen to records this year
providing electricity that keeps families warm, businesses open and workers employed.
Even so, investments in coal have been dwindling as
forced to shut long before they can generate a profitable return.
Urgewald, a German nonprofit environmental and human rights organization
that tracks active coal projects, said about 473 gigawatts of new coal power plants are still in various stages of planning, compared to
about 1,600 gigawatts in the pipeline as recently as 2017
expand coal power generation in places like China and India may not make state-owned utilities there happy
With coal prices so high, companies that burn the fuel to generate electricity sold at regulated rates have seen profits ebb
of deciding whether to take advantage of the brief window of looser coal power expansion rules, or focusing more on narrower profits on high
New Hope, which is aiming to lift production and studying potential coal sector acquisitions
eventually crowd fossil fuels out of the grid
emissions profile.
And in Europe, the looming energy crisis and surging fossil fuel prices have boosted demand for renewables, with imports
of solar panels from China on the continent more than doubling over the first half of the year
The risks of relying on Russian pipeline gas have accelerated plans to also reduce overall use of that fuel, a factor that could over the
by eight years to 2030 its exit from the fuel.
It all suggests only a brief reprieve for coal, as companies and nations keep a close watch
on their emissions trajectory
