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Nearly half of the coal industry is still on an expansion course in 'reckless’ mining rush

CNBC · Anmar Frangoul · last updated

Nearly half of the coal industry intends to develop new projects to exploit the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel, according to German campaign group Urgewald, with many companies refusing to retire assets even as extreme weather events become worse and more frequent across the globe.

Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: coal

State of Play

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.

More informationabout ENERGY BASICS: coal