The pros and cons of ban on coal energy: way out for Africa

Abstract

Coal usage has contributed immensely to evolution of general manufacturing, iron and steel production, power generation, railways and other industries. Apart from its usage in the industries, coal mining is also an important source of income for many countries. The call for world transition from coal to renewable energy has been on for some times in the past. This is because coal is considered one of the most green-house-gas intensive sources of electricity. This paper, therefore, investigates the pros and cons of banning coal as a source of energy generation. The data used in this study were mostly sourced from the literature. The study reveals that China, the United States, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia and Poland are the top ten top countries in the world using coal energy. The findings also show that the cons outweigh the pros. It is recommended that African countries whose main source of energy generation is from coal should endeavour to reduce its environmental impact through coal liquefaction and gradual phase-out of coal fired plants.