Generation of energy - Energy agency expects record demand for coal
According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for coal is higher than ever this year. It is expected to rise by 1.4 percent and exceed the 8.5 billion tons mark for the first time, the IEA announced in Paris.
However, due to the increasing use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, the experts expect the climate-damaging energy source to fall by 2.3 percent by 2026. This is the first time ever that the IEA has forecast a fall in coal consumption.
According to the agency, there are major differences between industrialized and emerging countries in this year's development: for example, there is likely to be a record decline of around 20 percent in the USA and the EU. "Demand in emerging and developing countries, on the other hand, remains very high," said the IEA. It expects an increase of 8 percent in India and 5 percent in China. Demand there is rising because more electricity is being generated and hydropower plants are supplying less energy.
According to the IEA, coal is still the most important energy source for power generation as well as for steel and cement production - and the largest man-made source of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Despite the expected decline, experts assume that coal consumption will remain at well over 8 billion tons per year up to and including 2026. According to the IEA, consumption would actually have to fall much faster in order to meet the targets agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Study release
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Source: www.stern.de
