Global coal consumption is expected to hit an all-time high this year, it was reported at the weekend.
Demand is forecast to grow by 1.2%, passing eight billion tonnes for the first time, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The Telegraph says the rise has been driven by an increase in burning coal to generate electricity in Germany, India and China, offsetting a fall in the US.
The IEA now expects coal demand will not start falling until 2025, propped up by strong demand in emerging Asian economies.
"This means coal will continue to be the global energy system's largest single source of carbon-dioxide emissions by far," it said.
Keisuke Sadamori, director of energy markets and security at the IEA, added: "The world is close to a peak in fossil-fuel use, with coal set to be the first to decline, but we are not there yet.
Emissions
"Coal demand is stubborn and will likely reach an all-time high this year, pushing up global emissions."
Restrictions in Russian supplies of gas to Europe have pushed up gas prices and created concern over gas shortages, pushing countries, particularly Germany, to burn coal to generate electricity instead.
Outages on France's nuclear power station fleet as well as low hydro power output from Norway have added to the pressure on European electricity supplies.
Meanwhile, a heatwave in China dented output at its hydro power plants, with coal-power generation increasing by 15% in August 2022 in China compared to the previous August.
The increase in coal use in power stations comes despite a commitment reached at the COP26 international climate summit, hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November 2021, to phase out coal over the next 20-30 years.
However, the IEA says it expects the return to coal in Europe to be temporary because of efforts to expand wind and solar power and improve energy efficiency.
Lack of appetite
The IEA added that, despite the surge in demand, banks and investors continue to show "in general, a lack of appetite for investment in coal", given climate goals.
China currently accounts for more than half of global coal demand, but growth of renewable power in the country has been highlighted, with the IEA expecting it to add renewable capacity by 2025 equivalent in size to Japan's total power generation.
The UK has also fallen back on coal, with National Grid asking power plants which were due to close last September to stay open over winter to provide back-up power supplies if needed.
- The Telegraph says Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom has collected £28million from operations in the North Sea in defiance of the UK Government's efforts to curb the Kremlin's revenues through sanctions and import bans.
Gazprom International UK holds interests in the Sillimanite gas field in the southern North Sea.