Hi airdualbleedfault
This isn't really the place for this discussion so I'll say what I have to say and leave it at that.
Yes you're right, China have been opening a new coal fired power station every week. I did say "Yes it will still be a major energy source for the likes of India and China for the foreseeable future".
But this is slowing and a lot of nations are doing the opposite. There's slight disagreement on when we'll hit peak coal (between 2014 and 2020 depending on the report) but it's generally agreed if it hasn't happened yet it will be soon.
One such report is from a London based NGO called Carbon Tracker titled "Carbon supply cost curves: Evaluating financial risk to coal capital expenditures". It's an interesting read. One paragraph that summarises the situation well is this: My bold.
Over the last three years, the Bloomberg Global Coal Equity Index has lost half of its value while broad market indices are up over 30 percent. In the pure coal sector there is only one trend – downward; coal prices are down, returns are down, share prices are down. Some analysts are already calling a structural decline in the seaborne thermal coal market.
Full paper at
http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-cont...-2014-WEB1.pdf
You obviously think differently on this matter which is fine. I've put my money where my mouth is (so to speak) by taking it out of any coal related investments. I trust you're loading up if you're of the same opinion as Monsieur Abbott. Coal is the future indeed.
Feel free to PM if you want to carry on the debate.
Back to the topic at hand.