It appears that the decline of coal, the dirtiest of all the fossil fuels, has been somewhat exaggerated in recent years, with the current energy shortage causing demand to soar. Despite being significantly dirtier than both oil and natural gas, there is a huge demand for coal as a reliable and relatively cheap source of energy in an incredibly expensive market. Sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine have only added to the supply shortage, although some countries like India are taking advantage of discounts to buy up Russian coal. Despite lots of talk about renewable energy acceleration, coal continues to dominate some markets. China is steadily increasing its coal output, while Indonesia looks to export to new European buyers. And while lots of countries are imposing sanctions on Russian coal, India is now backing up its cheap Russian oil imports with low-cost coal. China’s daily output […]