The United States is closing coal mines and laying off workers due to onerous EPA regulations that are shuttering coal-fired power plants in this country and keeping modern, more efficient plants from being built.
India Opening Coal Mines; Will Surpass U.S. in Coal Production
While the United States is closing coal mines, India is opening a coal mine a month in order to double production by 2020. Its goal is to produce 1.5 billion metric tons of coal by 2020, exceeding U.S. coal production, and becoming the second largest coal producer in the world, after China. Coal will remain the major source of energy in India despite its pledge to the United Nations to reduce its greenhouse gas intensity, build more non-fossil-fuel generating plants, and plant more trees to absorb up to 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. India has rejected any absolute cuts to the amount of carbon dioxide that it emits because it needs coal to grow its economy and to beat poverty. By 2025, it is expected the India will replace the United States as the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide.(i]
