Coal consumption to top oil by 2020

Chinese demand will spark a 25 per cent rise in coal consumption by 2020 to 4500 million tonnes of oil equivalent, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie, topping demand for oil at 4400 million tonnes. Speaking at the World Energy Congress, William Durbin, president of global markets at WoodMac, said: "China's demand will almost single-handedly propel the growth of coal as the dominant global fuel. Unlike alternatives, it is plentiful and available." Half the power plants expected to be built between now and the end of the decade will be coal fired.