Part of the story is climate change advocacy, as diplomats and policy specialists marshall their facts in preparation for next year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
But even on a “business as usual” scenario that assumes no effective global carbon controls on the near horizon, analysts see threats to the profitability of coal-related assets onshore and afloat.
Rising fossil fuel costs will be an incentive to shift to renewables — or from coal to gas, especially if China develops domestic shale gas resources.
