2011年整个欧洲的煤炭工业Coal industry across Europe 2011

自上一版《欧洲煤炭工业》以来，能源领域发生了很大变化。高能源价格导致了今天仍在上演的全球金融危机。中东局势的不稳定威胁到石油供应，给接近历史高点的原油价格带来进一步的上涨压力。在这些变化中，煤炭仍然是一种有竞争力的能源。它已成为发展中经济体发电的首选燃料，在消费量已超过33亿吨或几乎占全球需求一半的中国更是如此。随着中国、印度等快速增长的经济体开始越来越依赖国际煤炭市场来满足其需求，煤炭供应的动态发生了变化。欧洲的煤炭价格现在紧跟秦皇岛港的价格，因此了解中国市场对进口商和贸易商至关重要。欧洲的煤炭和褐煤生产商享受到了更高的价格，但有时却以降低产量为代价，尤其是在限制碳排放的政策开始吃紧之际。展望未来，在日本福岛第一核电站发生可怕灾难后，核复兴的可能性似乎较小。这意味着包括煤炭在内的替代品需求更大。将欧盟雄心勃勃的能源和环境政策与这些新现实结合起来并非易事，但我们可以肯定，在许多欧盟成员国，煤炭仍将是电力供应的支柱。

Since our last edition of "Coal industry across Europe", much has changed in the energy world. High energy prices contributed to a global financial crisis that is still playing out today. Instability in the Middle East threatens oil supply, putting further upward pressure on crude oil prices which sit near historic highs. Throughout these changes, coal has remained a competitive source of energy. It has become the fuel of choice for power generation in developing economies, nowhere more so than in China where consumption has grown to over 3.3 billion tonnes or almost half of global demand. As China, India and other fast-growing economies begin to rely more and more on the international coal market to meet their needs, the dynamics of coal supply have changed. Coal prices in Europe now follow those at Qinhuangdao port, so an understanding of the Chinese market is vital to importers and traders. European coal and lignite producers have enjoyed higher prices, but sometimes at the expense of lower volumes, especially as policies to limit carbon emissions begin to bite. Looking to the future, following the terrible disaster at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan, a nuclear renaissance looks less likely. This means stronger demand for alternatives, including coal. Marrying the EU’s ambitious energy and environmental policies with these new realities will not be easy, but we can be sure that coal will remain the backbone of electricity supply in many EU Member States.