The elected Mayor of Copeland has reacted to the news that coal power will reach a record high in 2022.

The amount of electricity generated worldwide from coal is surging towards a new annual record in 2021, undermining efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potentially putting global coal demand on course for an all-time high next year, the International Energy Agency said in its latest annual market report.

After falling in 2019 and 2020, global power generation from coal is expected to jump by 9% in 2021 to an all-time high of 10,350 terawatt-hours, according to the IEA’s Coal 2021 report, which was released today. The rebound is being driven by this year’s rapid economic recovery, which has pushed up electricity demand much faster than low-carbon supplies can keep up. The steep rise in natural gas prices has also increased demand for coal power by making it more cost-competitive.

Overall coal demand worldwide – including uses beyond power generation, such as cement and steel production – is forecast to grow by 6% in 2021. That increase will not take it above the record levels it reached in 2013 and 2014. But, depending on weather patterns and economic growth, overall coal demand could reach new all-time highs as soon as 2022 and remain at that level for the following two years, underscoring the need for fast and strong policy action.

In 2020, global coal demand fell by 4.4%, the largest decline in decades but much smaller than the annual drop that was initially expected at the height of the lockdowns early in the pandemic, the report shows.

Discussing the news, Mike Starkie said: “This is just a demonstration of the levels of hypocrisy associated with the West Cumbrian mine.

“As the demand starts to increase within the UK, it may start to eradicate the need for thermal coal. The coal needed for steel production will also increase and that affects the opening of the mine in Whitehaven, as it will get rid of the carbon footprint by transporting it.

“The news defeats any arguments as to why plans for the mine shouldn’t go ahead. We’ve heard that there’s been ‘compelling’ arguments three times, but we haven’t seen any change. The best thing the Government can do is to give the green light.”