Coal Demand Growth to Slow in Next Five Years on China, IEA Says
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Global coal demand growth will slow in the five years through 2019 as China, the world’s biggest consumer of the fuel, takes steps to cut energy intensity and diversify supply, according to the International Energy Agency.
Coal use will increase by 2.1 percent a year through 2019 to 6.5 billion metric tons of coal equivalent, less than the 2.3 percent growth predicted last year for the five years through 2018, the Paris-based agency said in its Medium-Term Coal Market Report. Demand growth of 2.4 percent in 2013 was greater than the increase for oil and natural gas, consolidating coal’s position as the second-largest energy source behind oil, it said.