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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

Industry shutdowns are messy and painful: 4 lessons Australia’s coal sector can learn from car-makers about bowing out

Mar 25, 2024 07:46 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Business

Shifting Australias electricity sector to low-carbon technologies and closing coal plants is vital to tackling climate change. But such transitions are easier said than done. People and economies are often deeply...

Future of Coal Series

Thermoelectric technologies can help power a zero-carbon future

Feb 22, 2024 06:25 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Thermometers are an under-appreciated marvel of human ingenuity built upon an understanding of relatively simple physical principles. Mercury and alcohol thermometers rely on the volume of liquids growing or shrinking in...

Future of Coal Series

Extraction of raw materials could rise 60% by 2060 – and making mining ‘greener’ won’t stop the damage

Feb 20, 2024 11:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

The United Nations flagship Global Resources Outlook report is the portrait of a juggernaut. Due to be published later this month by the UNs International Resource Panel, it highlights how global consumption of raw...

Future of Coal Series

'Gold' hydrogen: natural deposits are turning up all over the world – but how useful is it in our move away from fossil fuels?

Jan 15, 2024 03:42 am UTC| Nature Business

Hydrogen will play a role in weaning us off fossil fuels. It can be used to power trains, planes and HGVs, as well as being a low-carbon alternative to coke in steelmaking and a way to warm our homes. But where will we...

Future of Coal Series

Making fossil fuel companies accountable for their products’ emissions would support the clean energy transition

Dec 18, 2023 02:23 am UTC| Business

I recently found myself among a group of alarmed scientists, writing a fervent plea to the European Commission to be more ambitious when it comes to corporate greenhouse gas reporting requirements. Our open letter calling...

Future of Coal Series

Coal will be all but gone by 2034 under Australia's latest energy roadmap

Dec 18, 2023 02:21 am UTC| Economy

Australias coal power stations will all close in 2038 five years earlier than previously expected and variable renewable energy capacity will need to triple by 2030 and increase sevenfold by 2050. These are two key...

Future of Coal Series

The world's carbon price is a fraction of what we need – because only a fifth of global emissions are priced

Jan 24, 2023 05:30 am UTC| Economy

At the end of last year, the worlds average price to emit one tonne of greenhouse gases was around US$5.29 (AU$7.77). For pricing to work as we want to wean us off fossil fuels it needs to be around $75 by the end of the...

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Economy

Why China’s economy has hit a wall

Chinas annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing came to a close on March 11. They were conducted under great pressure: a weak economy and high expectations from both the domestic public and international observers as to...

Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed

There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russias gross...

Mentorship is key to improving social and economic outcomes for Black youth

Black youth in Canada experience poorer educational achievement than other children and youth, which leads to subsequent poor economic outcomes. A series of problems and barriers contribute to poor educational outcomes....

There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well

The federal and Northern Territory governments have just made a historic funding announcement of about A$1 billion for schools in the territory. This includes an extra $737.7 million from the federal government and an...

Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents

Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the...

Politics

China's Commerce Minister to Advocate EV Sector in Europe Amid Subsidy, Tariff Probe

Chinas Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set to visit Europe in April to address concerns and advocate for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry amid a European Commission investigation into alleged unfair...

Chinese Hackers Target US Officials and Dissidents in Cyber Espionage Scheme

Seven nationals of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) face charges for a long-term cyber espionage campaign targeting political dissidents and officials in the US, marking a significant escalation in international cyber...

SpaceX Builds Spy Satellites for US; Russia Warns of Military Response

Russia has issued a stark warning to the United States, stating that the use of SpaceXs satellites for espionage could render them targets for military action. This follows revelations that SpaceX is constructing a spy...

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

Disinformation caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it. Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 a...

Science

How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight

Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The invention of the airplane allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared...

The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve

The progress of science in the last 400 years is mind-blowing. Who would have thought wed be able to trace the history of our universe to its origins 14 billion years ago? Science has increased the length and the quality...

What is minoxidil, the anti-balding hair growth treatment? Here’s what the science says

Hair loss (also known as alopecia) often affects the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body. Its very common and usually nothing to worry about; about half of Australian men show signs of visible baldness at age 50 and...

Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born

When we look out to the stars, it is typically not a yearning for the distant depths of outer space that drives us. When we are looking out there, we are truly looking back at ourselves. We try to understand our place in...

Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history

Total solar eclipses have fascinated and terrified people for centuries. Today, we know that total solar eclipses like the upcoming eclipse on April 8 are caused by a cosmic coincidence when the moon comes between the...

Technology

Amazon One App Launches, Expanding Palm Pay at Whole Foods, Panera

Amazon introduces the Amazon One app, allowing users to set up palm recognition for seamless payments at Whole Foods, Panera, and other locations directly from their smartphones. Amazon One Expands with Mobile App for...

Crypto ATM Installations Set to Skyrocket, Driven by Bitcoin FOMO, CEO Predicts

As the crypto industry anticipates a surge in Bitcoin interest post-halving, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz predicts a significant resurgence in crypto ATM installations worldwide. This optimism follows a decline in 2023...

Ford Motor Slashes F-150 Lightning Workers as EV Sales Slow

Ford Motor Company is trimming down its workforce at its Michigan production plant for F-150 Lightning pick-up trucks. The automaker cited slow EV sales as the reason for the move. Ford Motor will slash two-thirds or...

Wendy’s Signs Deal With PAR Punchh AI Platform to Advance Customer Loyalty Program

The Wendys Company selected the PAR Punchh customer loyalty platform to upgrade its loyalty program for better customer engagement. The fast-food chain will apply next-generation technology to offer the best solutions to...
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