The Reality
The World’s Most Important Fuel
Clean energy options are crucial and steadily growing in importance. Of the resource options available for the world’s sustainable energy needs, coal plays a vital role. As global production and consumption of coal grow, environmental concerns demand that the coal we burn be cleaner and more efficient.
The World Coal Market Outlook
Today fossil sources account for 80% of world energy demand: coal 25%, natural gas 21% and oil 34%. Proven global reserves of oil (based on current consumption) will last 41 years, those for natural gas 63 years and for coal 147 years with some estimates ranging as high as 200 years. Some analysts believe that a peak for oil production will come much sooner. Natural gas, once thought to be abundant and cheap, has become harder and more expensive to find. Dwindling reserves of oil and natural gas suggest that their contribution to global energy use will show modest growth at best. Coal, however, remains abundant. Regions marked by strong coal competition are steadily adding to proven reserves which have increased by over 50% in the past 22 years. (BP, 2007; Harvard Magazine, 2006; International Energy Agency, 2006; World Coal Institute, 2003)
Coal continues to be the world’s fastest-growing fuel in 2006. Global consumption of coal increased by 4.5%, below last year’s rapid (+5.7%) growth but well above the 10-year average. Consumption in China grew by 8.7% and accounted for more than 70% of global coal consumption growth. Elsewhere, consumption increased by 3.5%, well above the 10-year average. By contrast, global natural gas consumption grew by 2.5% in 2006, below the 10-year average; oil consumption grew by 0.7%, below the 10-year average and the weakest growth since 2001; nuclear power consumption rose by 1.4%, just below the 10-year average; and hydroelectric consumption increased by an above-average 3.2%. (BP, 2007) Oil remains the world’s leading energy source but over the last decade it has lost market share to coal and natural gas. This trend can only continue.
