Coal is the new black; China consumes half the world’s

Coal is the new black.

Bizarre how a coal shortage is dominating global headlines.

China burns more coal than the rest of the world *combined* and a shortage of coal means a screeching halt to many of the world’s factories that have been deliberately outsourced to China.

And this simple sentence is a keeper, I’m going to steal it for future posts:

“China consumes and mines half the world’s coal, and it’s also the largest importer.”

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“Coal prices soared to their highest on record as China accelerated a global struggle for resources that has brought the dirtiest fossil fuel roaring back.

High-quality thermal coal loaded on ships at Newcastle port in Australia surged to $203.20 a ton, breaking the previous record set in July 2008. That’s the benchmark price for Asia, the world’s largest market for the fuel by far.

The rally comes during a global energy crunch that’s hitting China, the world’s biggest coal producer and consumer, especially hard. And as gas prices spike higher in Europe, there’s been a resurgence in demand for the fossil fuel that the continent’s policy makers have long been trying to phase out.

Still, there isn’t enough coal to go around. A German electricity producer closed one of its plants recently after it ran out of the fuel.

Earlier this week, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng ordered state-owned energy giants to secure fuel supplies for winter at any cost.

China consumes and mines half the world’s coal, and it’s also the largest importer. The government told miners to keep digging even if they’ve exceeded their annual quota. …”