The newly released World Energy Outlook (WEO) report by the intergovernmental International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted the global coal trade would increase by 40% by 2040 even though coal demand would rise by only 15%.

But it all depends on India replacing China as the world’s biggest coal importer as China’s economy matures — and that in turn depends on India’s own growth and its inability to supply its coal demand from its own reserves.

The