Ancient Chinese populations were probably the first to use coal as an energy source, replacing wood in many areas.1 In modern times, coal is synonymous with the Industrial Revolution and foundational industrial technologies such as steelmaking and railroads. Coal accounted for 27% of global primary energy use and 35% of global electricity generation in 2022.2 Coal is extremely abundant, which is one reason why global consumption reached a record level in 2022 despite growing action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. China continues to be the largest consumer of coal, accounting for more than half of the world’s total demand.
Long after the Chinese, Britain started mining coal in the seventeenth century, motivated in part by the shortage of wood for fuel.3 Europe and North America followed suit in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when steam engines were used to power machinery in textile mills, factories, and mines, thereby transforming the nature of work and production.
Coal played a major role in the development of Western military capabilities as steam and coal-powered warships, and gunboats were instrumental in conquering new territories and gaining access to raw materials in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Coal was also used to power locomotives that transported natural resources from the new territories.4
In the first decades of the 20th century, coal remained the primary energy source in the industrial sector. Expansive mining industries developed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and the Soviet Union. Production costs declined due to advances in mining technologies such as coal-cutting machines, continuous mining machines, and longwall mining in underground mines. Mine safety also improved. Coal played a crucial role in transportation through the 1930s, powering steam locomotives and ships. After World War II, coal-fired power plants were built to meet the growing electricity demand. Continued mechanization and heavy machinery such as bucket-wheel excavators and draglines raised productivity in surface mines.
World War I underscored the significance of energy independence. Large coal producers had a strategic advantage over countries lacking natural resource reserves. Even some large coal-producing countries like China and Russia heavily depended on imports because local production could not match demand. The development of domestic coal deposits became a primary objective for many countries.4
Coal remains a vital part of the energy system in many countries, particularly in electricity generation. The coal and electricity sectors have reduced emissions of hazardous air pollutants, improved the treatment and recycling of water in mining operations, improved land reclamation techniques, reclaimed fly ash for use in commercial products, and continued to improve worker health and safety. These advances vary by company and country.
Yet the remaining significant environmental and human health impacts of the coal fuel cycle, especially the combustion of coal, have prompted calls to phase out the resource entirely. Germany, France, Canada, Finland, and Sweden are among those countries that have set target dates to eliminate coal-fired electricity generation. The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario envisions that all unabated coal generation ends by 2040.5 Coal has lost significant shares of electricity generation in countries such as the United States in part due to these concerns but also because the cost of new electricity plants using natural gas, solar, and wind are much lower than new coal-fired power plants.6
1 Dodson, J.; Li, X.; Sun, N.; Atahan, P.; Zhou, X.; Liu, H.; Zhao, K.; Hu, S.; Yang, Z. Use of Coal in the Bronze Age in China. The Holocene 2014, 24(5), 525-530Link
2 Energy Institute, “2023 Statistical Review of World Energy,” https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review
3 Was There an Energy Crisis in Great Britain in the 17th Century? Thomas, Brinley Explorations in Economic History; Apr 1, 1986; 23, 2; Periodicals Archive Online pg. 12Link
4 Högselius, P. The political history of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas in global perspective. In Handbook on the Geopolitics of the Energy Transition.; Scholten, D., Ed.; Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.: 9 Dewey Court, Northampton, Massachusetts 01060, USA, 2023, pp. 67-83Link
5 International Energy Agency, “Coal,” accessed December 10, 2023, https://www.iea.org/energy-system/fossil-fuels/coal
6 U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Levelized Costs of New Generation Resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2023,” April 2023, Link
