Coal is the world's most abundant fossil fuel!

Humans have had a long and very productive relationship with coal. Archeological records indicate that people burned coal over 4,000 years ago in Wales. 2,000 years ago, coal was commonly used in China and parts of the Roman Empire. Coal was also popular for heating in Europe and North America in the 1200s. In the 1700s and 1800s, coal fueled the Industrial Revolution, producing steam for the engines that powered factories, trains and ships.

Proven reserves of coal worldwide exceed one trillion tonnes (i.e. 1 x 10¹² t). This is enough coal to last almost 220 years at current rates of consumption. In comparison, current reserves of oil are projected to run out in just over 40 years and natural gas reserves are projected to last a further 70 years. Of course all of these reserve projections will increase as;

• Exploration activities discover new sources of fossil fuels

• Technology advances in environmental management, mining, and drilling make previously uneconomic reserves economic to access.

• Improving emissions reduction, refining, and combustion technology make low grade fuels economic to use.

Unlike oil and gas reserves that tend to be concentrated in specific regions, coal is widely distributed. As a matter of fact, in some regions coal is the only realistic fuel or energy option as other fuel sources are unavailable or prohibitively expensive to use.

World coal production in 2001 was approximately 3.1 billion tonnes. The United States, China, Australia, India, South Africa and Russia are among the world's largest coal producers and consumers. Coal is also one of the largest commodities moved by ships and rail worldwide.

Coal is second only to oil as an energy source in the world. Approximately 70% of the world's coal production is used to generate 40% of the world's electricity, 12% is made into coke used to produce 70% of the world's steel, and the remaining 18% is used for other industrial and domestic purposes.

Countries deriving a majority of their electricity from coal combustion include Poland (96%), South Africa (90%), Australia (84%), China (80%), The United States (56%), and Denmark (52%). Approximately 18% of Canada's electricity is generated by using coal.

In Canada, all cement plants, with the exception of a white cement plant in Ontario, use coal in their manufacturing process. A total of 1.2 million tonnes of coal was used to produce 13.5 million tonnes of cement in 2003.

With rapid improvement in emissions reduction technology, better environmental management in mining operations, widespread availability worldwide, and substantial remaining reserves, coal will continue to play a vital role in providing the world's energy well into the foreseeable future.

Coal is an abundant, affordable, and increasingly clean source of much needed energy!