Jakarta. Beijing. Hong Kong. Singapore. Taipei.

With proven global reserves of nearly 900 billion tons, coal is the world’s most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), coal accounts for 82% of the world’s non-renewable energy resources. At current production levels, coal reserves would be able to meet the world’s energy needs for 150 years. BP estimates that global energy consumption grew 2.5% in 2011, while coal consumption increased by 5.4% in the same period, making coal the fastest-growing fuel. Coal now accounts for 30.3% of global energy consumption, its highest share since 1969, and will remain as the dominant source of energy worldwide. The World Economic Forum predicts that coal-fired power-generation capacity will continue to rise globally, even as renewable energy installations increase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Economic growth, and the improved living standards it enables, craves more energy supply. According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2010, an additional 5,900GW of capacity is needed to support an 80% growth in electricity demand by 2035. For emerging economies, the use of coal will be driven by its advantages of affordability and wide availability. Global coal consumption reached 7.5 billion tons in 2011, and the IEA expects an additional 4.4 billion tons will be consumed annually by 2035.