Liontrust Sustainable Investment Annual Review 2023 - Flipbook - Page 8
Coal is a dying fuel – Coal is plentiful,
but also dirty, dangerous1 and becoming
expensive relative to alternatives. In the
UK, it has fallen from 66% of the electricity
generating mix to just 2% over the last 30
years. In the US, usage has dropped from
55% to 20%. It is being replaced by cheaper,
easier to deploy, clean wind and solar. To quote
the President of the International Energy Agency,
‘humanity has never had a cheaper energy source
than solar PV’. Solar is consistently cheaper than new
coal- or gas-fired plants in most countries, and solar projects
now offer some of the lowest cost electricity ever seen. The era
of burning things for energy is coming to an end.
Share of electricity production from coal (measured as a percentage of total electricity)
100%
Denmark
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Netherlands
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
0%
Source: Ember Climate Yearly Electricity Data (2023); Ember – European Electricity Review (2022); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World
Energy (2023).
Coal is estimated to kill 24.6 people per TWh of electricity, wind, solar and nuclear less than 0.04 people a 50x difference.
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