Germany will have to increase the burning of coal for electricity production, because of the cut in gas supplies from Russia, economy minister Robert Habeck announced, despite his Greem party's policy favoring green energy and eliminating fossil fuel.
Chilean plans to close half of the country's coal-fired electricity generating plants by 2025, Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet assured Wednesday during a ceremony in which the generating company Engie vowed to either close or convert six of the oldest plants by 2024, with a capacity of 800 megawatts (MW).
A recent report from Greenpeace found that China's coal consumption declined in the first half of this year and new Chinese government data suggests that the country's coal imports have dropped. Estimates indicate that by the end of the year, China's coal imports could be 8 percent below 2013 levels.
China has started rationing electricity to try and stave off an energy shortage that government officials say could be the worst since 2004. State-owned power generating companies are dealing with high global energy prices that have cut their profits.
China has also banned the export of diesel, to try to meet domestic demand.