Can the World end the use of coal?

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The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes grim reading. The main conclusion is that we need to cut carbon emissions in half within the next 12 years if we are going to achieve the aim of reducing global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. A major element in doing this involves reducing the use of coal for energy production. Ideally, cutting it out altogether would be a good move, but that will be extremely difficult. Cutting coal use is possible, as has been proved in the United Kingdom, where reliance on coal for electricity generation fell from 40% to 7% between 2012 and 2017. This resulted in the country's carbon emissions falling to their lowest levels since the 1890s. The biggest problem in global terms is China, where coal-fired electricity generation has actually increased in recent years - more than 50 gigawatts of extra coal-fired capacity was added in 2017. However, the results of this are not difficult to see, with choking smog descending on Chinese cities and people being forced to wear face-masks when they venture on to the streets. Fortunately, these consequences have not gone unnoticed by the Chinese government, and there are now plans to slash the contribution of coal to the energy mix to 11% by 2050 - at present coal and oil together represent 80%. And what about the United States, the world's second-biggest culprit? With the idiot currently in the White House being more concerned about buying coalminers' votes in West Virginia than safeguarding the health of those same workers' families, one has to wonder.