China and India will be burning much more coal for energy by 2017, making coal the biggest source of energy by 2017. The US is burning less due to increased natural gas usage however it will be exporting coal to Europe. And of course natural gas extraction involves fracking which, as we all know, is toxic to the environment and water supplies.
CO2 emissions will increase and thus, so will the effects of climate change. It’s all really quite depressing. Governments and business make unctuous noises about wanting to combat global warming but what we get is more dirty power. The recent Doha climate change conference was a feeble joke. What’s is going to take to get the planet away from dirty energy?