Coal Use at Highest Level Since 1970

Writing for Oilprice.com, Nick Cunningham pointed out that the amount of coal burned in 2013 was enough to meet 30.1 percent of the world’s energy demand, the highest percentage in over 40 years. The author cited statistics from BP’s (NYSE:BP,LSE:BP) Statistical Review of World Energy.

As quoted in the publication:

The findings are striking because of trends that appear to be pushing coal to the sidelines: An abundance of natural gas in the United States has utilities switching away from coal; Europe’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have led to a high penetration of renewables in electricity markets; and China leads the world in annual installations of solar and wind. But despite those headlines, coal still dominates. In 2013, coal consumption increased by 3 percent, making it the fastest growing fossil fuel. A large reason for its success is its low cost – coal markets have experienced several years of declines in prices. Also, coal is relatively abundant and found around the world.

Click here to read the full Oilprice.com article.