Is coal going to be king again?

Coal use will hit a record high across the world in 2022, a major energy agency is predicting, with emerging markets in Asia driving much of the spike even as demand slackens elsewhere.

Global coal demand “is set to increase only marginally in 2022,” the International Energy Agency said in a press release this week; yet even that small demand will be “enough to push it to an all-time high.”

The IEA said it is predicting that “the world’s coal consumption will remain at similar levels in the following years in the absence of stronger efforts to accelerate the transition to clean energy.”