AKIPRESS.COM - Global demand for coal has fallen this year for the first time in two years as Europe and the US turn their backs on coal-fired power plants in favour of cheap gas and renewable energy.

A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that the world’s appetite for coal declined in 2019 after a two-year resurgence following the steepest ever drop in the use of coal-fired power plants, The Guardian reports.

The world’s energy watchdog said it is too soon to say whether the global appetite for coal would continue to decline because the fate of the industry rests largely in the hands of China’s policymakers.

Coal remains the world’s single largest source of electricity generation, half of which is produced in China and used to power Chinese power plants.