1 big thing: Coal’s global persistence…

Global coal consumption dipped by 0.6% in 2019, the fourth decline in six years, but the most carbon-intensive fuel remains by far the largest source of power generation in world, per BP’s latest global data review. Why it matters: Coal’s persistence in the global mix, even as it loses some ground, is among the major reasons why the […]

Oakland Effort To Block Fossil-Fuel Exports Suffers Second Judicial Setback

The Ninth Circuit’s May 26 decision to send the City of Oakland’s climate-change lawsuit against oil companies back to the lower court overshadowed another important Ninth Circuit ruling involving Oakland and fossil fuels. Released the same day, OBOT v. City of Oakland affirmed a lower court decision featured on this blog nearly two years ago. […]

Global electricity consumption continues to rise faster than population

Global electricity consumption continues to increase faster than world population, leading to an increase in the average amount of electricity consumed per person (per capita electricity consumption), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Statistics. Electricity is used most commonly in buildings for lighting and appliances, in industrial processes for producing goods, […]

Fate of US coal exports in 2020 may ride on post-pandemic stimulus

Facing mounting pressure from the investment community due to environmental concerns, some U.S. coal companies bet their future prospects on exporting product overseas. But with few export opportunities before the pandemic and a global economic slowdown ripping into electricity and steel demand, it is unclear when the export market will become that panacea without nations […]

E.P.A. Limits States’ Power to Oppose Pipelines and Other Energy Projects

The agency tweaked the rules on how to apply the Clean Water Act, which New York and other states have used to fight fossil-fuel ventures. The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced that it had limited states’ ability to block the construction of energy infrastructure projects, part of the Trump administration’s goal of promoting gas […]

Appeals court rules in favor of coal terminal

A federal appeals court has agreed that the city of Oakland, California, breached its contract with Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) when it banned coal and petroleum coke handling and storage in the city. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 opinion yesterday upholding the US District […]

Oakland, California Loses Appeal on Coal Ban

A judge’s ruling striking down Oakland, California’s ban on transporting coal through the city was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. In an opinion issued Tuesday, two of three judges on the panel upheld a lower court’s finding that the city breached its contract with a developer by attempting to block […]

STEELING THE NATION FOR RECOVERY

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Energy markets have been in disarray. And when many people think “coal” they think electricity. But to do so would miss a promising market that could be poised for growth as the world looks towards recovery: the market for metallurgical coal used to produce nearly […]

Ninth Circuit Overturns Oakland Coal Ban

(CN) — The Ninth Circuit refused Tuesday to let the city of Oakland ban coal shipments from a new terminal being built from an old army base at the foot of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Slated to be built on the site of the former Oakland Army Base near the Port of Oakland, the […]

EU net coal imports halve in March

EU coal imports halved on the year in March to a fresh 30-year low, with little prospect of recovery in the short term amid low regional power demand and stiff competition from natural gas. Net thermal coal imports among EU-27 members from countries outside of the bloc fell by 3.7mn t, or 50.6pc, on the […]