Editing Coal (section)

==Coal industry==
{{main|:Category:Coal companies|Coal mining|Coal by country|Coal industry in China|Coal industry in Pakistan|Coal industry in India|Coal companies of Australia}}

===Mining===
{{main|Coal mining}}

[[File:Miners at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine.jpg|thumb|Coal miners in the [[Appalachia]] region in 1974]]
About 8,000 Mt of coal are produced annually, about 90% of which is hard coal and 10% lignite. {{As of|2018}} just over half is from underground mines.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coal mining |url=https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/coal-mining |publisher=[[World Coal Association]] |access-date=5 December 2018|date=2015-04-28 }}</ref> The coal [[mining industry]] employs almost 2.7 million workers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coal industry faces 1 million job losses from global energy transition - research |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/coal-industry-faces-1-million-job-losses-global-energy-transition-research-2023-10-10/ |work=Reuters |date=10 October 2023}}</ref> More accidents occur during underground mining than surface mining. Not all countries publish [[mining accident]] statistics so worldwide figures are uncertain, but it is thought that most deaths occur in [[List of coal mining accidents in China|coal mining accidents in China]]: in 2017 there were 375 coal mining related deaths in China.<ref>{{cite news |title=China: seven miners killed after skip plummets down mine shaft |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/16/miners-killed-in-south-west-china-mining-accident |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=16 December 2018|agency=Agence France-Presse }}</ref> Most coal mined is thermal coal (also called steam coal as it is used to make steam to generate electricity) but metallurgical coal (also called "metcoal" or "coking coal" as it is used to make coke to make iron) accounts for 10% to 15% of global coal use.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The One Market That's Sure To Help Coal |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2018/08/12/the-one-market-thats-sure-to-help-coal/#570c071f6f6e |magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=12 August 2018}}</ref>

===As a traded commodity===
{{See also|Cost of electricity by source}}[[File:Art work of Toledo, Ohio - DPLA - 0a107364e8d8eb430ebc183d28c46463 (page 125) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Extensive coal docks seen in [[Toledo, Ohio]], 1895]]
[[Coal in China|China mines]] almost half the world's coal, followed by [[Coal in India|India]] with about a tenth.<ref name="BPReview2016">{{cite web |title=BP Statistical review of world energy 2016 |url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-workbook.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202103642/http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-workbook.xlsx |archive-date=2 December 2016 |access-date=8 February 2017 |publisher=British Petroleum |format=XLS}}</ref>  At 471 Mt and a 34% share of global exports, Indonesia was the largest exporter by volume in 2022, followed by Australia with 344 Mt and Russia with 224 Mt.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Trade – Coal 2023 – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/coal-2023/trade |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> Other major exporters of coal are the United States, South Africa, Colombia, and Canada.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=118}} In 2022, China, India, and Japan were the biggest importers of coal, importing 301, 228, and 184 Mt respectively.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=117}}  Russia is increasingly orienting its coal exports from Europe to Asia as Europe transitions to renewable energy and subjects Russia to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="Overland-2023" />

The price of metallurgical coal is volatile<ref>{{cite web |title=Coal 2017 |url=https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/data/7732.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620012116/http://eneken.ieej.or.jp/data/7732.pdf |archive-date=2018-06-20 |url-status=live |publisher=[[International Energy Agency|IEA]] |access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> and much higher than the price of thermal coal because metallurgical coal must be lower in sulfur and requires more cleaning.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coal Prices and Outlook |url=https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=coal_prices |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration}}</ref> Coal futures contracts provide coal producers and the [[electric power industry]] an important tool for [[Hedge (finance)|hedging]] and [[risk management]].

In some countries, new onshore [[wind power|wind]] or [[solar power|solar]] generation already costs less than coal power from existing plants.<ref>{{Cite news| title = New wind and solar generation costs fall below existing coal plants |work=Financial Times| access-date = 2018-11-08| url = https://www.ft.com/content/af6915c8-e2eb-11e8-a6e5-792428919cee}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy ('LCOE') analysis – Version 12.0 |url=https://www.lazard.com/media/450773/lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-120-vfinal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109235056/https://www.lazard.com/media/450773/lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-120-vfinal.pdf |archive-date=2018-11-09 |url-status=live |access-date=9 November 2018}}</ref>
However, for China this is forecast for the early 2020s<ref name="CarbTrk2018">{{cite web |title=40% of China's coal power stations are losing money |url=https://www.carbontracker.org/40-of-chinas-coal-power-stations-are-losing-money/ |publisher=Carbon Tracker |access-date=11 November 2018|date=2018-10-11 }}</ref> and for southeast Asia not until the late 2020s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Economic and financial risks of coal power in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines |url=https://www.carbontracker.org/reports/economic-and-financial-risks-of-coal-power-in-indonesia-vietnam-and-the-philippines/ |publisher=Carbon Tracker |access-date=9 November 2018}}</ref> In India, building new plants is uneconomic and, despite being subsidized, existing plants are losing market share to renewables.<ref>{{cite news |title=India's Coal Paradox |url=https://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/Indias-Coal-Paradox.html |date=5 January 2019}}</ref>

In many countries in the Global North, there is a move away from the use of coal and former mine sites are being used as a tourist attraction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pukowiec-Kurda |first1=Katarzyna |last2=Apollo |first2=Michal |date=2024-08-27 |title=From coal to tourism: a game-changer in the sustainable transition process |journal=Journal of Tourism Futures |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=454–460 |language=en |doi=10.1108/JTF-05-2024-0086 |issn=2055-5911|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Market trends===
{{See also|List of countries by coal production}}
[[File:Coal production by region, OWID.svg|thumb|upright=1.8|Coal production by region]]

In 2022, China used 4520 Mt of coal, comprising more than half of global coal consumption. India, the European Union, and the United States,  were the next largest consumers of coal, using 1162, 461, and 455 Mt respectively.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-15 |title=Coal 2023 – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/coal-2023 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{Rp|page=114}}  Over the past decade, China has almost always accounted for the lion's share of the global growth in coal demand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consumption – Coal Information: Overview – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/coal-information-overview/consumption |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> Therefore, international market trends depend on [[Energy policy of China|Chinese energy policy]].<ref name="IEA2018">{{cite web |date=2018 |title=Coal 2018:Executive Summary |url=https://webstore.iea.org/download/summary/2415 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218193720/https://webstore.iea.org/download/summary/2415 |archive-date=18 December 2018 |access-date=18 December 2018 |publisher=[[International Energy Agency]]}}</ref> 

Although the government effort to reduce [[air pollution]] in China means that the global long-term trend is to burn less coal, the short and medium term trends may differ, in part due to Chinese financing of new coal-fired power plants in other countries.<ref name="Cornot-Gandolfe 2018" />

Preliminary analysis by [[International Energy Agency]] (IEA) indicates that global coal exports reached an all-time high in 2023. Through to 2026, the IEA expects global coal trade to decline by about 12%, driven by growing domestic production in coal-intensive economies such as China and India and [[coal phase-out]] plans elsewhere, such as in Europe.<ref name=":1" /> While thermal coal exports are expected to decline by about 16% by 2026, exports of metallurgical coal are expected to slightly increase by almost 2%.<ref name=":1" />