Coal use hits record in 2023, Earth's hottest year

[mahatmakanejeeves]

DECEMBER 15, 2023 Editors' notes

Coal use hits record in 2023, Earth's hottest year

by Isabel MALSANG



A lignite-fired power station operated by German energy giant RWE in Germany.

Global consumption of coal reached an all-time high in 2023, the IEA energy watchdog said Friday, as Earth experienced its hottest recorded year. ... The International Energy Agency reported that nations would burn even more coal this year than in 2022, the previous record for consumption of the key source of planet-warming gases.

Scientists say greenhouse gases will need to be cut almost in half this decade to meet the world's targets of limiting global heating and avoiding catastrophic impacts on the Earth's climate.

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said earlier in December that 2023 will be the hottest on record after November became the sixth record-breaking month in a row.

The IEA said, nevertheless, that after peaking this year, worldwide coal consumption was expected to start declining in 2024, as renewable power generation from solar and wind continues to expand.

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[2naSalit]

1. Yep...

Two or three miles long coal trains pass through my county almost every day.

[Lonestarblue]

2. It's as if people are looking at a slow-burning fire consuming their house and decide to pour gasoline on it instead of

putting it out. I know it’s all about money, but what good is money when the Earth becomes unlivable. And, yes, the billionaires will hve their bunkers and think they can escape unscathed because they have all the money.

[plcdude]

3. Back in October

My wife and I drove to Montana from Oklahoma to visit my youngest daughter and i saw in Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota numerous very long trains filled with coal. I said to my wife that perhaps we are being deceived by energy industries when it comes to the use of fossil fuel use in producing electricity. I guess I may be correct.