More proof CO2 emissions won't go down....

Coal-fired energy plants are being built at a record rate...

Der Spiegel, the German newsmagazine, explained earlier this month why the Persian Gulf states are switching to coal. “[They] may be sitting atop massive oil reserves,” the magazine said. “But with prices for crude skyrocketing, it makes more sense to sell it than to use it. Instead, the Gulf states are turning to coal for their own energy needs – to the detriment of the climate.” And these states are not alone. “Demand for coal plants,” the magazine says, “is growing rapidly across the globe.”

Abu Dhabi (largest of the seven UAE emirates) has announced that it will switch to coal-fired power plants. Dubai (the second largest) is already building four of them – with a combined output of 4,000 megawatts – as a first-phase investment in coal. Apart from the United Arab Emirates, Oman (widely regarded as “the next Dubai”) has signed a contract with South Korea for the construction of several coal-fired plants. Beyond the Gulf, Egypt proposes to build its first coal-fired plant on the shores of the Red Sea. Russia has announced plans to build more than 30 coal-fired plants by 2011.

As almost everyone now knows, China connects a new coal-fired plant to its electrical grid every 10 days – and intends to keep doing so for several years. Less known is China's decision to construct a massive coal-fired plant in Inner Mongolia that will convert the region's vast coal reserves into oil. With 10,000 people now engaged in the construction, the plant will be completed by the end of the year. The coal-to-liquid process used by this plant will consume twice as much coal and produce twice the CO{-2} emissions as the simple burning of coal in a conventional power plant.