The world is burning more coal than ever before, new report shows – by Ivana Kottasová (CNN.com – December 16, 2022)

https://www.cnn.com/

The global energy crisis caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine has pushed global demand for coal – the most polluting of all fossil fuels – to a record high in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.

Demand for coal is set to grow 1.2% and top 8 billion metric tons for the first time ever this year, the IEA said in the latest edition of its annual coal report. This record comes only a year after countries agreed to phase down their use of coal at the United Nations’ climate conference in Glasgow.

The growth is mostly down to a rapid rise in the prices of natural gas and other fuels, which has forced some countries and regions to turn to coal as a cheaper alternative.

Coal is the world’s largest source of energy for electricity generation and the production of steel and cement. But it is also the biggest single contributor to the climate crisis, accounting for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use.

For the rest of this article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/world/coal-use-record-high-climate-intl/index.html