GLOBAL NATURAL GAS VS COAL

Cheaper and more domestically available, coal supplied 38 percent of global electricity in 2018 while gas supplied 23 percent. However, the generation capacity is very close with coal at 29 percent and gas at 24 percent.  The power sector accounts for 40 percent of total gas usage.

A lot of countries are turning towards natural gas which is emerging as the world’s top choice for fuel. The consumption of gas is expected to grow in the coming years. Low gas prices are being understated for more gas infrastructure and usage. The low prices are critical for the still developing countries as the residents of these countries have lesser money for high costs.  Six of seven people struggle in developing nations and energy poverty is a topic that continues to be ignored. But the poor nations need access to the same carbon based energy that makes the rich nations richer.

China and India are the world’s first and fourth largest carbon emitters, holding about 40 percent of the world’s population. China and India need to modernise their ever increasing demand in a number of ways. Decreasing their dependence on coal usage and shifting to gas would efficiently solve this problem. Both the countries remain coal users but they have realised the potential that the shift to gas hold for them. However, India and China see no need to improve on their current emissions plans that are set through to 2030.