Coal Makes a Comeback

Not so long ago, Western industrialists and politicians dismissed coal as a viable fuel, rejecting its tendency to pollute cities and cause serious respiratory problems. The world has no shortage of coal and so its prices are stable, but burning it releases far more carbon into the atmosphere than using either oil or natural gas, thus accelerating the pace of global warming. Even so, the West is having second thoughts as energy prices increase – and companies in the US, UK and Germany have no qualms about selling coal-mining technology to companies in China and India. Already, about 70 percent of China’s energy needs are met with coal, and the US Energy Information Administration predicts coal consumption to double in Asia’s rapid expanding economies. Germans subsidize mines that are used as training sites for Chinese miners eager to learn the latest technology, including state-of-the-art emissions control, and politicians defend the subsidies as providing future energy security. Meanwhile, China is also borrowing another German idea – reserving massive amounts of coal and other natural resources to ensure long-term economic security. – YaleGlobal