A Burning Question for Coal’s Brightest Star
India is the world’s fastest-growing market for the fossil fuel. So why are investors fleeing?
A human health and climate fail.
Photographer: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images
If India is such a bright hope for global coal demand, why can’t investors see it?
The country will experience the largest increase in coal burning through 2023, according to the International Energy Agency, with a 3.9% annual pace of growth that should be enough to offset falling consumption in developed countries. BloombergNEF, whose forecasts tend to be less bullish than the IEA’s on fossil fuel demand, is not far behind: Coal-fired generation will increase about 48% by 2030 to hit 1,512 terawatt-hours, more than all of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.