Common questions about Coal

Short answers, pulled from the story.

What is coal and how is it formed?

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock formed when plants decay into peat and are converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. The process called coalification begins when dead plant matter is protected from oxidation by mud or acidic water and is eventually deeply buried by sediments. About 90% of all coal beds were deposited in the Carboniferous and Permian periods during the Late Paleozoic icehouse.

When was coal first used by humans and where?

The oldest intentional use of black coal was documented in Ostrava, Petřkovice, in a settlement from the older Stone Age on the top of Landek Hill between 25,000 and 23,000 years BC. In China, the earliest recognized use is from the Shenyang where by 4000 BC Neolithic inhabitants had begun carving ornaments from black lignite. Coal from the Fushun mine in northeastern China was used to smelt copper as early as 1000 BC.

How does coal use affect human health and the environment?

Globally coal is estimated to cause 800,000 premature deaths every year, mostly in India and China, due to air and water pollution from mining and processing. Burning coal is a major contributor to sulfur dioxide emissions which creates PM2.5 particulates and causes asthma, strokes, heart attacks, and lung cancer. Coal ash contains radioactive elements uranium and thorium and is hazardous to human beings and other living things.

Which countries consume and export the most coal in 2024?

China is the largest consumer and importer of coal, which mines almost half the world's coal and used 4520 Mt in 2022. Indonesia and Australia export the most coal, followed by Russia, with Indonesia being the largest exporter by volume in 2022 at 471 Mt. India is the second largest consumer with about a tenth of global consumption, followed by the European Union and the United States.

What are the global targets for reducing coal use by 2030?

To meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius, coal use needs to halve from 2020 to 2030. The United Nations Secretary General asked governments to stop building new coal plants by 2020, and phasing down coal was agreed upon in the Glasgow Climate Pact. A record amount of coal was burnt in 2024, but consumption is expected to peak before 2030.

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