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

[kristopher]

39. Did you know that Germany is getting rid of coal subsidies? - "Saarland coal exit"

Like here, the German coal mining industry is a strong political force. Or at least, it used to be. This closure is ahead of schedule.

Saarland coal exit
by DoDo
Sat Jun 30th, 2012 at 03:43:36 AM EST

Today the last coal mine closes in the German state of Saarland. This is the end of an era, because Saarland was one of the two main high-grade coal regions in post-WWII Germany, alongside the Ruhr Area.
The background of the mine closure is the phasing-out of subsidies for the mining of high-grade coal by 2018 (though the closure in Saarland was accelerated after a 4.7 earthquake in 2008). These coal subventions were fought over hard ever since the first Social Democrat (SPD)–Greens coalition governments in North Rhine-Westphalia state (NRW, 1995) and at federal level (1998). While the Greens could only get the SPD to agree to reductions, in 2007 EU pressure forced the then Grand Coalition (CDU+SPD) federal government to decide for a phaseout by 2018, and again at the behest of the EU, a 2010 revision accelerated the annual reduction of subsidies.

The end of subsidies effectively means the end of coal mining: now only four mines in NRW remain active, of which the first closes at the end of the year, another in three years, and the last two when the subsidies run out. But the defenders of the subventions proved right in one point: coal users just switched to imports (now 80%), which brings additional problems like fine dust pollution in ports. As...

http://www.eurotrib.com/story/2012/6/30/34336/6816

This link gives actual production of various fuels through 2011:
http://www.ag-energiebilanzen.de/componenten/download.php?filedata=1326461230.pdf&filename=BRD_Stromerzeugung1990-2011%2020Dez2011&mimetype=application/pdf

Braunkohle = Brown coal (low quality)
Kernenergie = nuclear



See also:

Coal mining in Germany
Small earthquake in Saarland...
...not many dead. But the industry itself could be a casualty
Feb 28th 2008

...The Saar and Ruhr are Germany's two historic mining areas—mining in Saarland dates back to 1429. But their production has long been uncompetitive and devours subsidies of around €2.5 billion ($3.7 billion) a year. In 2007 the industry and government struck a deal: mining would be phased out by 2014, or 2018 at the latest, unless a review in 2012 showed that the economics had suddenly changed for the better. So the miners of the Saar already looked doomed. They have dwindled from 60,000 in their heyday, producing 17m tonnes a year, to a mere 3,600 producing 3.6m tonnes from one mine at Ensdorf. But sudden closure would still be a shock.
...

http://www.economist.com/node/10766249