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The pace shifts: global demand for fossil fuels goes up so much people wonder if “peak coal” is yet to come?

The annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy has been released. Global demand for energy is speeding up again — mainly thanks to China, India and the US. Tellingly, all fuels — coal, oil, gas, nukes and hydro  — grew faster than their ten year averages, but not renewables. So the momentum has shifted back to fossil fuels, especially gas which was up a remarkable 5.3%, one of the fastest rates of growth in the last 40 years. Coal grew at 1.4% — twice as fast as the average for the last decade. Coal still supplies 27% of the total energy mix.

Is peak coal yet to come?

  Graham Lloyd, The Australian

“As a result, the peak in global coal consumption which many had thought had occurred in 2013 now looks less certain. Another couple of years of increases close to that seen last year would take global consumption (of coal) comfortably above 2013 levels,” the BP report said.                        

 Thank shale gas for saving the world eh?

…without shale gas in America and LNG exports to Asia, notably from Australia, greenhouse gas emissions would be much higher.                                                                         

Frack for the planet.

The story of 2019 is that though renewables have been growing at a blistering pace, the rate of increase is slowing, and it’s not keeping up with the growth in demand. Energy demand is up 2.9% but emissions were up 2%. Renewables growth isn’t fast enough to supply the extra demand and shrink total emissions.

UPDATE: Be aware everything after the dotted line in these graphs is a projection. Not real! See how small the renewables part is before the line…. h/t Bill in Oz.

BP Statistical Review, Graph, Fuel, nations.

Renewables (orange at the top) are not the main game in the major economies.

 

From BP

Tell us again how coal is a stranded asset?

The huge Adani coal mine just got approval. It has a long future.

BP, Coal demand, Global, Graph. 2019

BP STatistical Review,

For Australians the word is “irrelevant”

The average player is increasing their emissions twice as fast as we are.

 Global carbon emissions rise twice as fast as ours

 Graham Lloyd, The Australian

BP said global emissions overall were up 2 per cent last year as the unexpected return to coal gathered pace.

The increase of 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from energy was greater than Australia’s total output.

The share of renewables in power generation increase from 8.4% to 9.3% but total electricity generation rose by 3.7%.

REFERENCE

BP STatistical Review of World Energy — 2019 edition

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