Full Title: How is coal faring in the "War on Coal?"
Author(s): James Stevenson
Publisher(s): IHS Energy
Publication Date: September 1, 2014
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
It is unclear who coined the phrase “War on Coal.” It has become a rallying cry for the defenders of coal usage, who use the term to denote their being unfairly under attack, singled out among all the other generation fuels, despite the economic benefits of coal-fired power generation. Opponents of coal sometimes also use the phrase, evoking their desperation to reduce coal consumption, primarily to fight against global warming. And the term War on Coal has achieved broad usage in the press. However, it is a polarizing term that allows no middle ground between being for coal or against it, and it implies that the preservation or reduction of coal consumption is an end unto itself. The reality is that coal lies within a competitive energy landscape globally. Pollution regulations form part of that energy landscape, and where there are active efforts to reduce coal burn, minimization of pollution is typically the driver. But countries globally weigh the cost of pollution reduction against the benefits of cheap coal-fired power. So, rather than asking how coal is faring in the War on Coal, better to simply examine the direction we see coal going across the globe.