Who is keeping coal alive?
consign coal to history". As recently as 2020 the iea believed consumption had peaked a decade ago. Yet King Coal looks brawnier than ever.
In 2022 demand for it surpassed 8bn tonnes for the first time. This article will look at who is greasing the wheels of the once doomed trade. We find that the market is lively, well-funded and profitable.
More striking still, the motley crew bankrolling it will probably allow trade to endure well into the 2030s, lining survivors’ pockets to the detriment of the planet. It is tempting to see 2022 as exceptional. Russia cut piped gas to Europe, and Europe banned coal imports from Russia.
The bloc turned to liquefied natural gas (lng) destined for Asia and thermal coal from Colombia, South Africa and distant Australia. Meanwhile, Asian countries reliant on Russia’s premium coal also diversified. Prices for top grades jumped.
Europe’s poorer neighbours, priced out of the gas market, gorged on lower-grade stuff. Now the storm has abated. After a mild winter European utility firms retain good stocks of gas and coal.
But as the need to power cooling units rises in the summer, coal imports will accelerate. China’s economy has emerged from zero-covid; India’s is going gangbusters. Traders expect global use to grow by another 3-4% this year.
Coal is likely to remain sought-after beyond 2023. True, demand in Europe will fall as renewables ramp up. It is already low in America, where fracked gas is cheaper.
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