Sky-high natural gas prices have Japan scrambling for dirty coal

From Tokyo to Boston, the world is being forced to depend more on coal amid a global natural gas supply crunch. - Reuters

TOKYO (Bloomberg): Japan’s coal imports are poised to jump to the highest level in at least two years as the nation’s utilities turn to the dirtiest fossil fuel as a replacement for expensive liquefied natural gas.

More than 17.3 million tonnes of coal will be delivered to the country this month, said Edwin Toh, a dry bulk manager at energy intelligence firm Kpler. That would be the highest since December 2019, and about 5% above the five-year seasonal average, according to Japanese customs data.