section_path: Economics
section_name: Economics
paragraph_text: Economics
  
  In 2018 US$80 billion was invested in coal supply but almost all for sustaining production levels rather than opening new mines. In the long term coal and oil could cost the world trillions of dollars per year. Coal alone may cost Australia billions, whereas costs to some smaller companies or cities could be on the scale of millions of dollars. The economies most damaged by coal (via climate change) may be India and the US as they are the countries with the highest social cost of carbon. Bank loans to finance coal are a risk to the Indian economy.
  
  China is the largest producer of coal in the world. It is the world's largest energy consumer, and coal in China supplies 60% of its primary energy. However two fifths of China's coal power stations are estimated to be loss-making.
  
  Air pollution from coal storage and handling costs the US almost 200 dollars for every extra ton stored, due to PM2.5. Coal pollution costs the €43 billion each year. Measures to cut air pollution benefit individuals financially and the economies of countries such as China.