Polluter coal is the fastest growing energy fuel
THE biggest producer of greenhouse gases - coal - was the fastest growing fuel worldwide last year, data compiled by energy company BP showed.
Coal consumption soared last year in China and India, appearing to put ambitious goals to fight climate change further out of reach.
Coal releases more of the planet-warming greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than any other fossil fuel.
China and India now account for nearly half of all the world's coal consumption, to power their booming economies, and their combined share rose more than 2pc in 2006.
Separately, the International Energy Agency said world oil demand will rise more quickly this year than previously thought, yesterday, adding weight to calls for more Opec production to meet increased consumption.
In its June monthly report, the IEA lifted its forecast for 2007 growth in world oil demand to 1.7m barrels per day (bpd), up 200,000 bpd from the previous forecast.
Tight supply has kept oil prices close to $70 a barrel, up from about $50 in January. "We would very much hope that Opec production is at its seasonal low at the moment," David Fyfe, analyst at the IEA, told Reuters by telephone. "We definitely do need more crude oil."
All of which points to more greenhouse gases. A UN panel of climate scientists last month said that global CO2 emissions need to peak by 2015, to keep atmospheric concentration at levels which the European Union says will avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Kevin Anderson, research director at the Tyndall Centre's energy and climate change programme in the UK , said the BP coal figures suggested this goal was unlikely to be reached.
"None of this is pointing to peaking in 2015," Mr Anderson said. "Without a big global policy change you're seeing a very rapid rise in emissions to 2020 or 2025."
"It's a bit surprising that we're down," said Armstrong.
The International Energy Agency report was having little effect on the market, surprising some.
Traders around the world chewed on the annual Statistical Review of World Energy, which found that the increase in global energy consumption slowed to 2.4pc in 2006, compared with 3.2pc in 2005. Growth in 2006 was just above the 10-year average, BP said.
(Reuters)
