Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2013
AI智能总结Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2013
Foreword
- Executive Director's Note: Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA).
- Coal's Role in Energy Mix: Coal is abundant and geopolitically secure, with coal-fired plants providing affordable, base-load power and flexibility in supporting renewable energy.
- Challenges: Despite these advantages, coal is unsustainable due to high CO2 emissions and local pollution. Current trends suggest a 2.3% annual increase in coal use until 2018, primarily driven by China.
Key Trends and Projections
- Global Coal Demand Growth: Projected to increase by 2.3% annually until 2018.
- Primary Driver: China accounts for the majority of the projected increase.
- Environmental Impact: Coal-fired power generation is the largest source of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, contributing over 60% to the rise in global CO2 emissions since 2000.
- Health Concerns: Local pollution from coal combustion poses significant health risks.
Solutions and Policy Initiatives
- Clean Coal Technologies: Underground coal gasification is a form of clean coal technology aimed at reducing local pollution.
- Efficient Plants: Policies promoting the construction and use of highly efficient coal-fired power plants and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are underway.
- Progress and Challenges: While some policies are encouraging, progress on implementing these initiatives is slow. Effective action on CCS is stalled, and a meaningful carbon price is lacking.
Current Status and Future Outlook
- Current Situation: Most coal plants built since the 1960s are inefficient, sub-critical types. If these were upgraded to super-critical plants, they could save as much CO2 as all European wind turbines combined.
- Future Goals: To achieve a sustainable energy profile, significant changes are needed to make coal cleaner.
Conclusion
- Executive Summary: The IEA emphasizes the need for radical action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the environmental impact of coal. Without such action, the long-term increase in global temperatures could reach 4°C, far exceeding the 2°C target agreed upon globally.
This summary captures the key points regarding the current state of coal, its projected growth, environmental impacts, and the necessary steps to make it more sustainable.
