A reader responds to the gloom and doom concerning coal consumption:
We’re in a race. If the refuseniks win, we’re doomed. Coal usage in the USA is going down, but we have a lot of it and are selling it … to China, where usage is going up fast.
Actually, the latest figures (from May ’15) disagree. This image is from CleanTechnica:
who in turn borrowed it from an interactive chart provided by Greenpeace. From Greenpeace:
Official data from China shows coal use continuing to fall precipitously – bringing carbon dioxide emissions down with it.
The data – which comes months before crucial climate talks in Paris – means China has cut emissions during the first four months of the year by roughly the same amount as the total carbon emissions of the United Kingdom over the same period.
The figures suggest the decline in China’s coal use is accelerating after data for last year showed China’s coal use fell for the first time this century
An analysis of the data by Greenpeace/Energydesk China suggests coal consumption in the world’s largest economy fell by almost 8% and CO2 emissions by around 5% in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period in 2014.
It comes after the latest data – for April – showed coal output down 7.4% year on year amidst reports of fundamental reform for the sector. China also recently ordered more than 1,000 coal mines to close.
I did not see any further data beyond May of this year, however, so the trend, while encouraging, is a little like judging an ant colony from five ants.
