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{{split article|from=Coal|to=Environmental impact of the coal industry|diff=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Environmental_impact_of_the_coal_industry&diff=194383401|date=27 February 2008}}
{{split article|from=Coal|to=Coal gasification|diff=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coal_gasification&action=historysubmit&diff=296390715&oldid=155563825|date=14 June 2009}}

{{split article|from=Coal|to=Coal liquefaction|diff=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coal_liquefaction&diff=294145996&oldid=288394635|date=3 June 2009}}
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== needs update but I don't have time ==

https://www.iea.org/reports/coal-2019#executive-summary

==Revisions of May 18-==
The following factoids or comments were removed

*Although coal is known from most geologic [[Period (geology)|periods]], 90% of all coal beds were deposited in the [[Carboniferous]] and [[Permian]] periods, which represent just 2% of the Earth's geologic history."
so what
*"[[jet (lignite)|Jet]], a compact form of lignite, sometimes polished; used as an ornamental stone since the [[Upper Palaeolithic]]"
"ornaments" seem distracting
*[[Fossils]] and [[amber]] may be found in coal.<nowiki><ref>Poinar GO, Poinar R. (1995) ''The quest for life in amber''. Basic Books, {{ISBN|0-201-48928-7}}, p. 133</ref></nowiki>
For a big article, these hobbyist details are distracting
*when dead plant matter was protected from [[biodegradation]] and [[oxidation]], usually by mud or acidic water" removed "biodegradaton".
--[[User:Smokefoot|Smokefoot]] ([[User talk:Smokefoot|talk]]) 14:28, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

==Split proposal==
{{Discussion top}}
This topic is vast and important.  The article is too long.  I will remove "Transition away from coal" since we have a article focused on that aspect: [[coal phase-out]]

Main recommendation: 
1) An article about coal, period.  What is it? Where did it come from?  Many classifications (rank, grade). What is it used for?  
2) The rest: mining (and economics), environmental impacts
--[[User:Smokefoot|Smokefoot]] ([[User talk:Smokefoot|talk]]) 14:14, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

:Can you be more specific? There are already articles on [[coal mining]] and the [[health and environmental impact of the coal industry]]. Also I suggest excerpts, for example of [[coal phase-out]]. [[User:Chidgk1|Chidgk1]] ([[User talk:Chidgk1|talk]]) 21:04, 20 May 2024 (UTC)
:That would make sense.  This should be general and more separate more. [[User:FairfieldAve|FairfieldAve]] ([[User talk:FairfieldAve|talk]]) 01:17, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
:Agree with the recommendations. Topics related to coal covered by other articles should only be mentioned briefly with a link [[User:Ita140188|Ita140188]] ([[User talk:Ita140188|talk]]) 10:28, 7 August 2024 (UTC)
:I agree the topic is vast and important. There is potential to reduce duplication within the article and move/remove less-important details that can be covered in sub-articles. I can spend some time on this this week. [[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 19:50, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
:Since the "Transition away from coal" section has been removed [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coal&diff=prev&oldid=1224630535] as proposed, is it OK to remove the "It has been suggested that this article should be split into multiple articles." tag at the top of the article? I think everyone agrees on moving towards [[WP:Summary style]] so it might be time to move more towards execution rather than further discussion. [[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 21:55, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
:@[[User:Smokefoot|Smokefoot]] Can we close this now as it is still showing up on our list of alerts at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Climate change]]? [[User:Chidgk1|Chidgk1]] ([[User talk:Chidgk1|talk]]) 19:02, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
::I lost track.  Split proposal has been removed.--[[User:Smokefoot|Smokefoot]] ([[User talk:Smokefoot|talk]]) 19:09, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
{{Discussion bottom}}

== Major producers/consumers/exporters/importers tables ==

A lot of space is given to statistics on the countries that are major producers, consumers, exporters, and importers of coal. Some of these tables haven't been updated in over five years. Since this is a broad overview article, I plan to replace them with a few up-to-date sentences. I've copied the content below.
{{collapse-top}}
=== Major producers ===
{{Main|List of countries by coal production}}
[[File:Coal_production_by_region,_OWID.svg|thumb|Coal production by region]]
Countries with an annual production higher than 300 million tonnes are shown.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"
|+Production of coal by country and year (million tonnes)<ref name="BPReview2011">{{cite web |title=BP Statistical review of world energy 2012 |url=http://www.bp.com/assets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2011/STAGING/local_assets/spreadsheets/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_report_2012.xlsx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619171812/http://www.bp.com/assets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2011/STAGING/local_assets/spreadsheets/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_report_2012.xlsx |archive-date=19 June 2012 |access-date=18 August 2011 |publisher=British Petroleum |format=XLS}}</ref><ref name="BPReview2016">{{cite web |title=BP Statistical review of world energy 2016 |url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-workbook.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202103642/http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-workbook.xlsx |archive-date=2 December 2016 |access-date=8 February 2017 |publisher=British Petroleum |format=XLS}}</ref><ref name="BP2018">{{cite web |title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018 |url=https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2018-coal.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206170529/https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2018-coal.pdf |archive-date=2018-12-06 |access-date=6 December 2018 |publisher=British Petroleum}}</ref><ref name="IEAstats">{{cite web |title=Global energy data |url=https://www.iea.org/statistics |publisher=[[International Energy Agency]]}}</ref>
!Country
!2000
!2005
!2010
!2015
!2017
!Share (2017)
|-
| align="left" |China
|1,384
|2,350
|3,235
|3,747
|3,523
|46%
|-
| align="left" |India
|335
|429
|574
|678
|716
|9%
|-
| align="left" |United States
|974
|1,027
|984
|813
|702
|9%
|-
| align="left" |Australia
|314
|375
|424
|485
|481
|6%
|-
| align="left" |Indonesia
|77
|152
|275
|392
|461
|6%
|-
| align="left" |Russia
|262
|298
|322
|373
|411
|5%
|-
| align="left" |Rest of World
|1,380
|1,404
|1,441
|1,374
|1,433
|19%
|- class="sortbottom"
!World total
!4,726
!6,035
!7,255
!7,862
!7,727
!100%
|}

=== Major consumers ===
Countries with an annual consumption higher than 500 million tonnes are shown. Shares are based on data expressed in tonnes oil equivalent.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"
|+Consumption of coal by country and year (million tonnes)<ref>[http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=1&pid=1&aid=2 EIA International Energy Annual – Total Coal Consumption (Thousand Short Tons – converted to metric)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209123924/http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=1&pid=1&aid=2|date=9 February 2016}}. Eia.gov. Retrieved on 11 May 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/#/?pa=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000080000000008&c=000000020000000000000800000000000000000000000002&ct=0&ug=8&tl_id=1-A&vs=INTL.7-2-CHN-MT.A&vo=0&v=H&end=2016 Coal Consumption]</ref>
!Country
!2008
!2009
!2010
!2011
!2012
!2013
!2014
!2015
!2016
!Share
|-
| align="left" |China
|2,691
|2,892
|3,352
|3,677
|4,538
|4,678
|4,539
|3,970 coal + 441 [[Metallurgical coal|met coke]] = 4,411
|3,784 coal + 430 met coke = 4,214
|51%
|-
| align="left" |India
|582
|640
|655
|715
|841
|837
|880
|890 coal + 33 met coke = 923
|877 coal + 37 met coke = 914
|11%
|-
| align="left" |United States
|1,017
|904
|951
|910
|889
|924
|918
|724 coal + 12 met coke = 736
|663 coal + 10 met coke = 673
|9%
|- class="sortbottom"
!World Total
!7,636
!7,699
!8,137
!8,640
!8,901
!9,013
!8,907
!7,893 coal + 668 met coke = 8561
!7,606 coal + 655 met coke = 8261
!100%
|}

=== Major exporters ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; text-align:right;"
|+Exports of coal by country and year (million tonnes)<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Coal Exports |url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/coal-and-coke/coal-and-coke-exports |access-date=12 May 2023 |publisher=[[Energy Information Administration|US Energy Information Administration]]}}</ref>
!Country
!2018
!2019
!2020
!2021
|-
!Indonesia
|408
|443
|410
|434
|-
!Australia
|382
|393
|371
|366
|-
!Russia
|212
|223
|222
|238
|-
!United States
|105
|85
|63
|77
|-
!South Africa
|80
|79
|75
|66
|-
!Colombia
|84
|72
|68
|56
|-
!Canada
|32
|36
|32
|32
|-
!Netherlands
|30
|28
|15
|27
|-
!Kazakhstan
|26
|26
|25
|24
|-
!Mongolia
|36
|36
|29
|20
|}
Exporters are at risk of a reduction in import demand from India and China.<ref name="IDDRI">{{cite book |url=https://www.iddri.org/sites/default/files/PDF/Publications/Catalogue%20Iddri/Rapport/201809-GlobalModelingReport-Iddri-Coal_FINAL.pdf |title=What Does "Peak Coal" Mean for International Coal Exporters? |date=2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015312/https://www.iddri.org/sites/default/files/PDF/Publications/Catalogue%20Iddri/Rapport/201809-GlobalModelingReport-Iddri-Coal_FINAL.pdf |archive-date=2018-11-01 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Overland-2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Overland |first1=Indra |last2=Loginova |first2=Julia |date=2023-08-01 |title=The Russian coal industry in an uncertain world: Finally pivoting to Asia? |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=102 |pages=103150 |bibcode=2023ERSS..10203150O |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2023.103150 |issn=2214-6296 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Major importers ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; text-align:right;"
|+Imports of coal by country and year (million tonnes)<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Coal Imports |url=https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/#/?pa=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000020000000004&c=00000002000g00000000080g4000000000000000000000k&ct=0&ug=8&tl_id=1-A&vs=INTL.7-3-CHN-MT.A&vo=0&v=H |access-date=26 July 2020 |publisher=[[Energy Information Administration|US Energy Information Administration]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=4 May 2012 |title=Energy Statistical annual Reports |url=https://www.moeaboe.gov.tw/ECW/english/content/ContentLink.aspx?menu_id=1540 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029060155/https://www.moeaboe.gov.tw/ECW/english/content/ContentLink.aspx?menu_id=1540 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |access-date=26 July 2020 |publisher=[[Bureau of Energy|Taiwan Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs]]}}</ref>
! style="width:140pt;" |Country
! style="width:100pt;" |2018
|-
| align="left" |China
|281
|-
| align="left" |India
|223
|-
| align="left" |Japan
|189
|-
| align="left" |South Korea
|149
|-
| align="left" |Taiwan
|76
|-
| align="left" |Germany
|44
|-
| align="left" |Netherlands
|44
|-
| align="left" |Turkey
|38
|-
| align="left" |Malaysia
|34
|-
| align="left" |Thailand
|25
|} 

{{collapse-bottom}}
[[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 20:54, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
{{reflist-talk}}

== Coal power plants, pollution, and abatement/mitigation ==

As a heads-up, I'm planning to see if I can improve the sections on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years there has been a lot of discussion about whether to phase out coal or  "unabated coal". There is also a lot of discussion out there about "clean coal". The [[Coal]] article should help the reader understand the debates. I plan to bring in some relevant content from [[Carbon capture and storage]] and [https://www.factcheck.org/2018/11/clearing-up-the-facts-behind-trumps-clean-coal-catchphrase/ this Factcheck source].  I'll try to do this without lengthening the article. [[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 22:13, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

:@[[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] Great - I think you have improved it enough to nominate it as a good article if you want. I have a couple of other articles in the nomination queue as I almost always find the reviewers make really useful comments which help me improve articles [[User:Chidgk1|Chidgk1]] ([[User talk:Chidgk1|talk]]) 19:20, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
::Regarding a nomination for Good article status, were you referring to the [[Carbon capture and storage]] article? The [[Coal]] article still needs quite a bit of work. [[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 19:38, 30 October 2024 (UTC)

== Underground fires ==

I've removed the following passages from the "Underground fires" section as I think they're unnecessary detail for an overview article.The examples that have sources are already in [[Coal seam fire]]. As for the unsourced example from Tajikstan, I tried to find sourcing and couldn't.  

In [[Centralia, Pennsylvania]] (a [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] located in the [[Coal Region]] of the U.S.), an exposed vein of anthracite ignited in 1962 due to a trash fire in the borough landfill, located in an abandoned [[anthracite]] [[Surface mining|strip mine]] pit. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it [[Centralia mine fire|continues to burn underground to this day]]. The Australian [[Burning Mountain]] was originally believed to be a volcano, but the smoke and ash come from a coal fire that has been burning for some 6,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fire in The Hole |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/firehole.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091014102731/http%3A//www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/firehole.html |archive-date=14 October 2009 |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>

At Kuh i Malik in [[Yagnob Valley]], [[Tajikistan]], coal deposits have been burning for thousands of years, creating vast underground labyrinths full of unique minerals, some of them very beautiful.

The reddish siltstone rock that caps many ridges and buttes in the [[Powder River Basin]] in [[Wyoming]] and in western [[North Dakota]] is called ''porcelanite'', which resembles the coal burning waste "clinker" or volcanic "[[scoria]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=North Dakota's Clinker |url=http://www.state.nd.us/ndgs/ndnotes/ndn13_h.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050914120008/http://www.state.nd.us/ndgs/NDNotes/ndn13_h.htm |archive-date=14 September 2005 |access-date=9 September 2005}}</ref> Clinker is rock that has been fused by the natural burning of coal. In the Powder River Basin approximately 27 to 54 billion tons of coal burned within the past three million years.<ref>{{cite web |title=BLM-Environmental Education – The High Plains |url=http://www.blm.gov/education/high_plains/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312133748/http://www.blm.gov/education/high_plains/article.html |archive-date=12 March 2005 |access-date=9 September 2005}}</ref> Wild coal fires in the area were reported by the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] as well as explorers and settlers in the area.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Lyman, Robert M. |author2=Volkmer, John E. |date=March 2001 |title=Pyrophoricity (spontaneous combustion) of Powder River Basin coals: Considerations for coalbed methane development |url=http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/Coal/CR01-1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050912063721/http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/Coal/CR01-1.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2005 |access-date=9 September 2005}}</ref>

{{reflist-section}} [[User:Clayoquot|Clayoquot]] ([[User_talk:Clayoquot|talk]] <nowiki>&#124;</nowiki> [[Special:Contributions/Clayoquot|contribs]]) 20:10, 29 October 2024 (UTC)