global coal consumption has advanced by over 50% in the past decade

[OKIsItJustMe]

38. “Germany is burning MORE coal now than before, not less.”

You’ve answered the wrong question.

The question you should be answering is, “How much coal would Germany be burning, if they weren’t using solar?”

Then you might ask the question, “Why are they burning more coal?” Or, “Are they emitting more CO[font size="1"]₂[/font]?”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-energy-power-co-idUSBRE8470JZ20120508

[font face=Serif][font size=5]European slump leads utilities to burn more coal[/font]

By Henning Gloystein and Jeff Coelho
LONDON | Tue May 8, 2012 8:34am EDT

[font size=4](Reuters) - Europe's economic slump is allowing utilities in some countries to burn increasing amounts of cheap, highly polluting coal for electricity generation and still meet legally binding targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, Reuters research shows.[/font]

[font size=3]The EU's carbon scheme, its main tool to fight global warming, caps CO2 emissions on around 12,000 industrial and power plants in 30 countries and requires them to purchase permits to exceed those caps.

The supply of permits has increased, however, to the equivalent of several hundred million tons of emissions due largely to slowing industrial output. Preliminary EU data suggests emissions in the capped market fell just over 2 percent last year.

…

"These statistics allow us to burn as much coal as we want to without actually raising UK emissions, but in the longer-term it sends out the wrong signal and will mean rising emissions once the economy bounces back," a power trader in London said.

…[/font][/font]