SO WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN COAL?

According to the International Energy Agency, Australia supplies 31 per cent of the world’s coal, second only to Indonesia, which supplies 34 per cent.

In May, the IEA made the dramatic declaration that investment in all new fossil fuel supply projects should stop immediately because of global warming.

But the latest commodities outlook from the MCA paints a different picture for Australian coal.

While our exports to China have declined sharply (down 34.8 per cent), the MCA estimates our thermal coal exports will stay strong for some time to come, predicting 23 per cent growth in value by 2030. We also have almost 14 per cent of known global coal reserves, while Indonesia has

4 per cent.

But given the increasing urgency of the net zero push, could the bottom fall out of this market tomorrow?

Tania Constable thinks not.

“We’re always trying to stay ahead of what might be happening, so we’re tapped into those major markets,” Ms Constable says.

“The demand, particularly in Europe, has dropped right off . . . as we’ve seen a strong structural change

away from coal into other energy sources. But we’re seeing major growth in Asia. “(They have) a strong need for baseload electricity and of course some of that is going to be taken up by gas and uranium, but there is still a need for thermal coal there.”