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Future of Coal Series

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Despite major shifts in the industry and serious worries in coal communities, today coal still supplies nearly 40% of our electricity. According to the Bureau of Land Management, one out of every five homes and business in the US use electricity made from Wyoming coal. But what does the future look like for fossil fuels in a world where there is increasing pressure to keep them in the ground? In this series, we examine the role of coal as an energy source in a world where constraints on carbon emissions are adopted to mitigate global warming. Indeed, the challenge for governments and industry is to find a path that mitigates carbon emissions yet continues to utilize coal to meet urgent energy needs, especially in developing economies.

Future of Coal Series

Australian trade deficit narrows in September, driven by firmer coal exports

Nov 03, 2016 05:25 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Australias trade balance improved during the month of September, driven by strong exports of coal and significantly beating market expectations. This surprise improvement was driven by a spike in resource exports, with...

Future of Coal Series

Australia's coal politics are undermining democratic and Indigenous rights

Oct 26, 2016 09:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Can Australia achieve fair and open decision-making when big coal players are involved? The case of Adanis proposed Carmichael coal mine suggests the answer is no, and Indigenous land owners are bearing the brunt. The...

Future of Coal Series

The gas industry needs a carbon price to compete with coal

Oct 25, 2016 17:20 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Putting a price on carbon would benefit the Australian gas industry, at least in the short term. It is therefore in the interests of gas producers to lobby for the emissions trading scheme proposed for the electricity...

Future of Coal Series

China’s coal imports likely to remain strong, policy measures to dictate prices

Oct 20, 2016 06:36 am UTC| Economy Commentary

Coal imports in China are expected to remain strong in the near term, despite efforts to limit the impact of capacity closures on utilities, while prices are likely to be dictated by the countrys policy...

Future of Coal Series

Bangladesh is building a dirty and expensive coal plant next to the world's largest mangrove forest

Sep 27, 2016 13:42 pm UTC| Insights & Views

A controversial new coal power plant being built in Bangladesh is already running out of friends. Environmentalists worry it will spell disaster for the worlds largest mangrove forest, while locals worry about pollution...

Future of Coal Series

King Coal is dethroned in the US – and that's good news for the environment

Sep 23, 2016 08:08 am UTC| Insights & Views

This is the worst year in decades for U.S. coal. During the first six months of 2016, U.S. coal production was down a staggering 28 percent compared to 2015, and down 33 percent compared to 2014. For the first time ever,...

Future of Coal Series

Pacific pariah: how Australia’s love of coal has left it out in the diplomatic cold

Sep 23, 2016 08:06 am UTC| Insights & Views

Australias Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will have some explaining to do when he attends the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Pohnpei, Micronesia, this week. Australias continued determination to dig up coal,...

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Economy

German Exports Drop 2.3% in January, Exceeding Forecast Decline

Germanys export sector started 2024 on a weak note, with outbound shipments falling 2.3% in January compared to December, according to data released Tuesday by Destatis, the federal statistics office. The...

RBA Rate Decision: Deputy Governor Signals Genuine Debate Ahead of March Meeting

The Reserve Bank of Australia is heading into its March 17 board meeting with no clear consensus on interest rates, according to Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser. Speaking to The Conversation on Tuesday, Hauser acknowledged...

Dollar Stabilizes Amid Iran War Uncertainty as Oil Prices Remain Elevated

The U.S. dollar regained its footing against major currencies on Tuesday after pulling back from recent highs, following President Donald Trumps statement that the Iran conflict could conclude very soon. Despite the...

Iran-U.S. Oil Tensions Escalate as Revolutionary Guards Threaten Strait of Hormuz Blockade

Tensions between Iran and the United States have reached a dangerous new level after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened to halt all oil shipments from the Middle East if American and Israeli military...

U.S. Solar Market Contracts in 2025 as Trump Rolls Back Renewable Energy Incentives

The United States solar industry experienced a notable slowdown in 2025, with new installations falling to 43 gigawatts a significant drop from the nearly 50 GW recorded in 2024. A joint report by the Solar Energy...

Politics

Russian Drone Strikes Hit Kharkiv and Dnipro, Injuring Over 20 Civilians

Russian drone attacks targeted two major Ukrainian cities late Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday, leaving more than 20 people injured and causing widespread property damage. The strikes hit Kharkiv, Ukraines...

Trump-Putin Call Addresses Iran War, Ukraine Peace, and Global Oil Crisis

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a significant phone call on Monday, addressing the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, the conflict in Ukraine, and growing instability in global energy...

Trump Hints at Possible U.S. Takeover of Cuba Amid Deepening Humanitarian Crisis

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows Monday when he suggested Cuba could be facing a potential U.S.-led takeover, describing the Caribbean nation as running on fumes with virtually no energy resources or financial...

Taiwan's MQ-9B SkyGuardian Drone Order Stays on Schedule Despite Middle East Conflict

Taiwans air force confirmed Tuesday that its procurement of four advanced MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones from U.S. defense manufacturer General Atomics remains on schedule and has not been disrupted by ongoing military...

U.S. Patriot Missiles Redeployed From South Korea Amid Middle East Conflict

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged Tuesday that Seoul lacks the authority to prevent Washington from relocating U.S. military weapons stationed on the peninsula, following reports that Patriot missile...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Amazon Engineers Investigate AI-Linked Outages as GenAI Coding Tools Raise Reliability Concerns

Amazon has convened a large group of engineers to investigate a pattern of service disruptions tied to artificial intelligence, according to a report by the Financial Times. The internal meeting was prompted by what the...

Chinese AI Stocks Surge as Tencent, MiniMax, and Zhipu Launch Agentic AI Programs

Chinese artificial intelligence stocks climbed sharply on Tuesday, driven by growing investor enthusiasm around agentic AI a rapidly emerging category of software capable of performing complex tasks autonomously on user...

Apple Bets Big on India: iPhone Production Hits 55 Million Units as China Reliance Fades

Apple has dramatically scaled up iPhone manufacturing in India, assembling approximately 55 million units throughout 2025 a striking 53% jump from the 36 million produced the year prior. The surge signals a decisive...

Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over AI Blacklist, Citing Free Speech Violations

Anthropic has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Pentagons decision to place the AI company on a national security blacklist, marking a dramatic escalation in its standoff with the U.S. military. The California-based...

Yann LeCun's AI Startup AMI Raises $1 Billion at $3.5 Billion Valuation

Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), the artificial intelligence startup founded by renowned AI researcher and former Meta Platforms chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, has successfully closed a $1.03 billion funding round...