Coal demand and supply for thermal power generation in the UN/ECE region

The geographical scope of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) comprises all countries of Eastern Europe and Western Europe and the former Soviet Union as well as Canada, Israel and the USA. Energy developments in the regions and the prospects for coal use are heterogeneous. In North America, particularly in the USA, the share of coal in primary energy demand and electricity production forecast to grow since coal is a competitive energy fuel in that subregion. In Western Europe, the prospects for coal in the energy and electricity sectors are less buoyant due to competition from natural gas and energy efficiency. In Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where there has been a district fall in primary energy and electricity consumption in the past five years, energy demand is forecasted to start growing as economic activity recovers. Coal shares are projected to remain mostly unchanged. (author)