Coal is a non-renewable fossil fuel that’s burned to make energy. It’s cheap and plentiful, but it comes with great costs to the climate and people’s health.
When burnt, coal releases more carbon dioxide than oil or gas, so it’s by far the worst fuel when it comes to climate change. Coal also produces toxic elements like mercury and arsenic, and small particles of soot which contribute to air pollution.
It might be cheap, but the real cost of coal is too high.
What is coal?
Coal is a fossil fuel which is burned to make energy. It’s non-renewable, because it comes from plant matter that died hundreds of millions of years ago.
It’s a carbon-rich black or very dark brown rock. When it is burned, it releases energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
How is coal made?
Coal is formed from dead plant matter that’s been buried and subjected to geological heat and pressure over hundreds of millions of years.
While coal has been used for energy for thousands of years, in the late 1800s it became an important way to power the industrial revolution.