Azerbaijan, Baku, May 4 / Trend A. Badalova /
The share of coal in the global energy balance will increase in the future, Institute of Science Development Scientific Innovation and Foresight Department head under the Russian Academy of Sciences Nadezhda Gapanenko said.
"Coal is becoming a growing source of energy in relation to changing conditions on the global energy market," she said in Baku today, speaking about global challenges and regional strategies of energy development at the Azerbaijani Presidential Center for Strategic Studies.
She said earlier that a tendency was observed in the reduction of the use of coal as an energy source across the world due to significant emissions of harmful substances, but interest in the fuel has risen yet again.
"Coal will get a second life," Gapanenko said.
She said a factor impacting the renewed interest in coal is the rise in prices on natural gas, which played the main role in the global energy sector in 1990.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of coal in the world's fuel balance by 2030 will increase by one-third, while oil will reduce by one-third and gas will slightly increase.
Major producers and consumers of are the United States and China. China uses over 2 billion tons of coal annually. A part of the country's national program aimed at reducing China's dependence on oil, the country is building plants to liquefy coal.
She said alternative energy sources will rank second only after coal in the world energy balance.
Expectations exceed the growth rate of wind energy, although its share has hit seven percent, she said.
Global demand on energy will also increase, she added. Coal, oil and gas will remain major sources. Gapanenko also noted IEA forecasts. According to their figures, global demand for energy by 2030 will increase by 57 percent.