In a global 'war on coal,' coal is winning; worldwide consumption rose 3 percent in 2013

Despite President Obama's goal to encourage more use of renewable energy, and similar efforts by China and countries in Europe, enough coal was burned worldwide in 2013 "to meet 30.1 percent of the world’s energy demands -- its highest share since 1970," according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy, freelance writer Nick Cunningham reports for The Christian Science Monitor. Coal consumption increased by 3 percent, making it the fastest growing fossil fuel, but the growth is lower than the 10-year average of 3.9 percent.

"A large reason for its success is its low cost – coal markets have experienced several years of declines in prices," Cunningham writes. "Also, coal is relatively abundant and found around the world. And despite the inroads made by natural gas and renewables, coal demand continues to climb in China, India and other fast growing developing countries. Coal has also seen a bit of resurgence in the US and Europe, although its duration is likely to be brief."

"But the data shows how tough it will be to replace coal," Cunningham continues. "All the efforts at reducing pollution and finding cleaner alternatives could be overwhelmed by the inexorable growth of the developing world. For now, coal remains behind oil in terms of its share of global energy demand, capturing 30.1 percent compared to oil’s 32.9 percent. But that could change. The International Energy Agency predicted that by 2017, coal would become the world’s top source of energy. Between 2012 and 2017, annual global coal consumption is expected to jump by 1.2 billion tons, which is equivalent of adding the coal consumption of Russia and the US combined." (Read more) (BP graphic: World coal reserves to production ratios in 2013)