According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), cited by CNBC, global coal consumption is set to grow by 1.2% in 2022 to a record high this year.

The news comes amid significant volatility and uncertainty in global energy markets, with the IEA saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 “suddenly changed coal trade dynamics, price levels and supply and demand patterns in 2022.”

“Coal markets are seriously shaken in 2022. Traditional trade flows have been disrupted, prices have risen, with demand expected to grow by 1.2% to an all-time high of 8 billion metric tons,” the IEA report said.

Fossil fuel prices have risen significantly this year, according to the agency, “natural gas has risen in price the most.”

“This has led to a wave of gas abandonment, increasing demand for more competitive options, including coal, in some regions,” he added.

Despite growing demand for coal, the picture is complex. The IEA noted that “higher coal prices, increased use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, and weaker global economic growth are holding back overall growth in coal demand this year.”

According to the agency, this year the use of coal in electricity production should increase by slightly more than 2%.

In fact, industrial use of coal is projected to decline by more than 1%, with the decline attributable to lower steel and pig iron production.

“The world is close to peak fossil fuel use, coal should be the first to decline, but we are not there yet,” Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security, said in a statement.

“Coal demand is stubborn and is likely to reach an all-time high this year, pushing up global emissions. At the same time, there are many signs that today’s crisis is accelerating the deployment of renewables, energy efficiency and heat pumps, which will lead to lower demand for coal in the coming years,” he added.

The use of coal has a significant impact on the environment, and the environmental organization Greenpeace describes it as “the dirtiest and most polluting form of energy production”.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration lists emissions from burning coal, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

The debate about coal and its future use remains active. Just this month, the UK government gave the green light to plans for a deep-sea coal mine in north-west England, a decision that has drawn both support and criticism. (source: news.ro / photo source: Dreamstime)