Agrowingnumberofcountrieswanttophaseoutcoalentirely,atransitione

Agrowingnumberofcountrieswanttophaseoutcoalentirely,atransitioneasedbycheapnaturalgasandcostofwindandsolarpower.Thatisgoodnews.Coalhasbeenthelargestengineofchangetodate,accountingfornearlyathirdoftheriseinaveragetemperaturessincetheIndustrialRevolution.Anypressureonitthereforecountsasprogress. Asiaaccountsfor75%oftheworld'scoaldemand.TheChinesegovermenthastakenstepstolimitpollutionandsupportrenewables.Yetcoalconsumptionthererosein2018,asitdidtheyearbefore.InIndiacoaldemandgrewby9%lastyear.InVietnamitswelldbyaltmostaquarter. Tokeeptheriseinglobaltemperaturestonomorethan1.59Crelativetopre-industrialtimes,climatologistsinsistthatalmostallcoalplantsmustshutby2050,whichmcansstartingtoactnow. Today'strendswouldkeepthelastcoalplantopenuntil2079,cstimatesUBS,abank.Asia'scoal-firedpowerregimenthasasprightlyavcrageageof15,comparedwithacreaky40yearsinAmerica,closetoretirement. Thereareseveralreasonsforthis,butonestandoutgovemmentIsupport.InIndiastate-ownedcompaniesinvestmorethan$6bnincoalminingandcoal-firedpowereachyear,statebackedbanksprovidesome$10.6bninfinancing.IndoncsiadolesoutmorethanS2bnannuallyforconsumptionofcoalfiredpower.JapanandSouthKorcafinancecoalprojcctsoutsidetheirborders. Govermmentsupportishardlysurprising.State-backedcoalfirmsmakemoneyandcreatejobs.Windturbinesandsolarpanelsprovidepoweronlyintermittently;fornow,dirtierpowerplantsareneededasbackup.GasispumellingcoalinAmerica,butremainsabit-playerinIndiaandmuchofSouth-EastAsia,sinceithastobeimportedandisrelativelyexpensive. Neverheless,govermmentsbettingoncoalfacethreebigrisks.Oneisenvironmental. Emissionsfromcoalplantsthatarealreadybuilt--letalonenewones-willensurethattheworldexceedsthelevelofcarbon-diosideemissionslikelytopushglobaltemperaturesupbymoretham1.5% C. Thereisancconomiorisk,too.Public-sectorzealforcoalismatchedonlybyprivate-sectordistaste.Banks,includingAsianones,haveincreasinglysaidtheywillstopfundingnewcoalplants.Windandsolarfarmsmakecoallookincreasinglyexpensive.Astudyhasfoundthatprivatebanksprovidedthre-quartersofloanstoIndianrenewablesprojectslastyear,state-backedbanksdoledouttwo-thirdsofthoseforcoal. Andthenthereispolitics.Votersdonotlikebreathingsoot.Moreofthemareconcemedaboutelimnatechange,too,astheyfaceunpredictablegrowingseasons,foodsanddroughts. Whichofthefollowvingstatementsistrue?().。

A.Govemment support is an important factor for rising coal demand in Asia

B.Japanese govermment does not support coal

C.Solar power is the most used energy in rich countries

D.Gas is playing a bigger role in most Asian countries

正确答案是A