Editing Coal (section)

===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>