Climate policy and the international steam coal demand

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of climate policies on the international steam coal demand, focussing particularly on Western Europe and Japan. Steam coal consumption is heavily concentrated on a few industry sectors (power production, steel and cement). We scrutinize the coal demand structure of these industries, assess the impact of climate policies on production costs and competitiveness, and discuss likely consequences for coal demand. Our scenarios for the future coal demand in Western Europe and Japan show that demand reductions in the range of 25 to 50% are not unlikely between 2000 and 2010.