Energy

China, India Increased Coal Production While Shaming Trump For His Paris Decision

REUTERS

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
Font Size:

China and India were critical of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, but it turns out both countries boosted coal production about 4 percent during the first five months of this year.

The Associated Press ran the numbers, and figured out China and India boosted coal production in the first half of 2017 after cutting production the year before. China cut production 8 percent last year to boost coal prices and get rid of excess capacity as their economy faltered.

BP recently reported coal production saw its biggest drop on record in 2016, as more countries switched to using natural gas.

Environmentalists cheered at the news global coal use declined in 2016, largely on cuts in India and China. China canceled or suspended plans for 100 coal plants and India is shutting down 37 large coal mines. India also said it wouldn’t need any new coal plants.

Coal production fell 6 percent globally that year, but new numbers from AP finds that coal production from China, India and the U.S. has gone up 6 percent.

The U.S. has seen coal production rise 19 percent during the first half of this year, in part due to increased demand for coal used in steel production. Higher natural gas prices also played a role.

China is also funneling billions of dollars to fund energy infrastructure in others countries, including Pakistan. India also plans to increase coal use in the future, while also scaling up green energy.

China and India, however, were both critical of Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord. Trump said the agreement favored China and India over American businesses.

Indeed, neither China nor India pledged to cut absolute emissions under the Paris accord for some time. China said it would aim to “peak” emissions by 2030, while India said it would use more green energy, but only with massive amounts of international subsidies.

Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.