It has been almost totally explained by the enormous increase in the coal burn at the global level.

BBC: The year in business: 2011

India and China have demonstrated an enormous appetite for coal, riding on a high level of industrialization and urbanization.

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Announcing a total of 590 redundancies, KPMG said that despite significant efforts in recent months, Scottish Coal had been unable to secure the level of investment required to enable the business to continue.

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In 2011 coal-generated power was down to 42%, its lowest level since at least 1949, when records began.

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S. K. Srivastava, who is Secretary at the Ministry of Coal, said the federal government projects 52% of India's total power generation in 2030-2031 will come from coal-fired plants, only marginally lower than the 57% level now.

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The background level of tropospheric ozone is inexorably rising as volatile organic compounds are released from burning coal and oil.

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Coal imports rose 57% in May compared to last year, their highest level since January 2011, the General Administration of Customs reported this week.

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Ms. VICKIE PATTON (Environmental Defense): EPA has, in a number of instances, taken a step back from its proposal and instead will allow some of these high-polluting, older coal plants to continue to discharge smog-forming and haze-forming pollution at a level that doesn't really reflect what today's modern pollution control technology can, in fact, achieve.

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Finally, the substitution of natural gas for coal to generate electricity has reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. to their lowest level in 20 years.

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