Released July 13, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Worldwide coal use fell 4.2% in 2020, the fourth decline in six years, and coal use at yearend 2020 was up only fractionally over consumption a decade earlier, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, released July 8.
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing global coal use per year since 2010.
The world's energy use, and its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fell by unprecedented amounts in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered cities and businesses, forcing workers who could work remotely to do so. For more on that, see July 9, 2021, article - BP: Global Drop in Oil Use in 2020 Drove Down Carbon Emissions and July 12, 2021, article - Global Demand for Natural Gas More Resilient than for Oil in 2020, BP Says.
Most countries reduced their use of coal and other forms of energy in 2020, owing to economic restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the BP report noted. But there were exceptions to the rule: In 2020, Malaysia increased its use of coal by 18.7% on a year-over-year basis, while China's use rose by less than 1%. Significant year-over-year reductions in 2020's coal use were recorded in the U.S. (down 19.1%) and South Korea (12.2% lower), the BP report said.
On a percentage basis, coal production in 2020 fell the most in the U.S. (down 25.2%) and Indonesia (off 9%).
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing global coal production and consumption, in exajoules, since 1995.
For some time, the nations with the largest demand for coal have been China, the U.S. and India. Over the 2010-2020 period, U.S. coal use declined, while Chinese (and Indian) demand rose. In 2010, China used about 3.5 times the amount of coal that the U.S. used, but by 2020 that gap widened to nine times.
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing coal use by China, the U.S. and India between 2010 and 2020.
The world's largest coal producers continued to be China, the U.S., Indonesia, India and Australia, though there have been some changes in the relative order of producers since 2010. China continued to be the global leader, and it increased production about 16% between 2010 and 2020. Indonesia's coal output has doubled over the preceding decade, while the U.S. production has fallen about 47%, data from the Statistical Review show.
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing output from the world's largest coal producers since 2010.
Spot prices for coal in global markets have fallen sharply from a decade ago. Spot prices for U.S. Central Appalachian coal averaged about $43 per tonne in 2020, down sharply from roughly $68 in 2010. A comparable percentage decline was reported for northwestern Europe, but prices fell less dramatically in Japanese and Chinese spot markets between 2010 and 2020.
Reduced use of coal contributed to a 6.3% decline in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 when compared with 2019, the BP report noted. About three-quarters of that reduction came from dramatically lower use of hydrocarbon-based transportation fuels, as millions of white-collar workers around the globe worked at home during the pandemic.
But to illustrate the magnitude of the challenge associated with holding down temperature gain, BP CEO Bernard Looney commented, "Although unmatched in modern peacetime, the rate of decline in carbon emissions last year is similar to what the world needs to average each year for the next 30 years to be on track to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement."
Although the BP report doesn't make projections about future coal use, there are signs that last year's reduced coal use will be reversed in 2021, as nations loosen pandemic restrictions, businesses reopen and consumer spending returns. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal noted that coal use is increasing in the U.S., China and Europe, partly due to fuel switching in the face of higher natural gas prices. Also, strong demand growth for electricity driven by historic heat waves have forced power producers to use all of their generating sources to keeps lights on and air conditioners humming.
During those heat waves, output from renewable energy generators failed to meet expectations in some markets.
The Journal quoted Kathryn Porter, founder of the energy consulting firm Watt-Logic: "It's difficult to get off coal because of security of supply. At the end of the day, you need to keep the lights on. When governments are faced with the choice of not supplying electricity, or using coal, they will use coal."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
The world's energy use, and its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fell by unprecedented amounts in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered cities and businesses, forcing workers who could work remotely to do so. For more on that, see July 9, 2021, article - BP: Global Drop in Oil Use in 2020 Drove Down Carbon Emissions and July 12, 2021, article - Global Demand for Natural Gas More Resilient than for Oil in 2020, BP Says.
Most countries reduced their use of coal and other forms of energy in 2020, owing to economic restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the BP report noted. But there were exceptions to the rule: In 2020, Malaysia increased its use of coal by 18.7% on a year-over-year basis, while China's use rose by less than 1%. Significant year-over-year reductions in 2020's coal use were recorded in the U.S. (down 19.1%) and South Korea (12.2% lower), the BP report said.
On a percentage basis, coal production in 2020 fell the most in the U.S. (down 25.2%) and Indonesia (off 9%).
For some time, the nations with the largest demand for coal have been China, the U.S. and India. Over the 2010-2020 period, U.S. coal use declined, while Chinese (and Indian) demand rose. In 2010, China used about 3.5 times the amount of coal that the U.S. used, but by 2020 that gap widened to nine times.
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing coal use by China, the U.S. and India between 2010 and 2020.The world's largest coal producers continued to be China, the U.S., Indonesia, India and Australia, though there have been some changes in the relative order of producers since 2010. China continued to be the global leader, and it increased production about 16% between 2010 and 2020. Indonesia's coal output has doubled over the preceding decade, while the U.S. production has fallen about 47%, data from the Statistical Review show.
Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing output from the world's largest coal producers since 2010.Spot prices for coal in global markets have fallen sharply from a decade ago. Spot prices for U.S. Central Appalachian coal averaged about $43 per tonne in 2020, down sharply from roughly $68 in 2010. A comparable percentage decline was reported for northwestern Europe, but prices fell less dramatically in Japanese and Chinese spot markets between 2010 and 2020.
Reduced use of coal contributed to a 6.3% decline in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 when compared with 2019, the BP report noted. About three-quarters of that reduction came from dramatically lower use of hydrocarbon-based transportation fuels, as millions of white-collar workers around the globe worked at home during the pandemic.
But to illustrate the magnitude of the challenge associated with holding down temperature gain, BP CEO Bernard Looney commented, "Although unmatched in modern peacetime, the rate of decline in carbon emissions last year is similar to what the world needs to average each year for the next 30 years to be on track to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement."
Although the BP report doesn't make projections about future coal use, there are signs that last year's reduced coal use will be reversed in 2021, as nations loosen pandemic restrictions, businesses reopen and consumer spending returns. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal noted that coal use is increasing in the U.S., China and Europe, partly due to fuel switching in the face of higher natural gas prices. Also, strong demand growth for electricity driven by historic heat waves have forced power producers to use all of their generating sources to keeps lights on and air conditioners humming.
During those heat waves, output from renewable energy generators failed to meet expectations in some markets.
The Journal quoted Kathryn Porter, founder of the energy consulting firm Watt-Logic: "It's difficult to get off coal because of security of supply. At the end of the day, you need to keep the lights on. When governments are faced with the choice of not supplying electricity, or using coal, they will use coal."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
