Global Coal Consumption Doubled in the Last 30 Years, According to IEA

Over the past thirty years, global coal consumption has doubled. This is what the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a report. A figure that highlights how difficult it is to abandon this fuel, despite the need to combat climate change and that confirms how much work still needs to be done to achieve climate neutrality.

Coal, historically the basis of the Western industrial revolution, therefore remains an economical and easily available resource, especially for developing economies, which are struggling to give it up. This also happens because renewable sources, although they have become more competitive thanks to the reduction in costs, are unable to guarantee continuity without the support of other energy sources, often fossil fuels . Furthermore, metallurgical coal used in steel production is particularly difficult and expensive to replace.

The Agency’s report shows that advanced economies, despite their stated commitments, are slowing down the process of eliminating coal

And for emerging countries, the challenge is even greater: the need to guarantee energy to support economic growth and improve the well-being of growing populations makes the use of cheap and easily available sources indispensable. This dynamic is evident in the historical consumption records forecast for coal and other fossil fuels, which, according to the Agency, will not decrease at least until 2027.

At the same time, the increase in the world population , from 5.7 to 8.2 billion since 1995, and the tripling of global GDP have fueled an unprecedented demand for energy. So much so that together with that of coal, the demand for gas has also doubled since 1995 (with an estimated demand of 4,200 billion cubic meters in the current year) and that of oil has grown by almost 50% (reaching almost 103 million barrels per day).

Despite the worrying outlook, the Agency also highlights that the generation of renewables is continuously growing, having multiplied since 1995.

Contributing to this context are countries, such as China and in general many Asian nations, which have made enormous industrial and technological progress. This has been a factor that has greatly increased the demand for energy. Today China is a “leader” not only in the consumption of raw materials and fossil fuels, but also in the installation of renewable and nuclear plants.

Despite the progress of green technologies, the global energy transition remains slow and complex, denounces the IEA, hampered by the needs of economic development and growing energy needs.

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(Featured image by Amin Hasani via Unsplash)

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First published in ESG NEWS. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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