Factbox: Europe ramps up coal imports as energy supply fears grow
LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) — European buyers have had to temporarily set aside green aspirations in a rush for coal as the region’s energy crisis deepens, ramping up shipments from Australia, South America, Colombia and South Africa while tightening the global market.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: coal
The use of coal, a staple of heating and electricity-generation for decades, is in decline in the United States — supplanted by newly abundant production of natural gas — but is still dominant in some parts of the world. While economical, coal use is particularly problematic as international attention focuses increasingly on climate change.
Related Knowledge Center: Energy security and pricing
The United States achieved net energy independence in 2020, but that has not insulated the nation from the roiling of energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Europe has been a large consumer of Russian natural gas, and the effort to wean itself, with the help of the United States, has strained markets and endangered global efforts to address the climate crisis.