One billionaire, three countries, decades of coal

The Australian government in June granted the Indian industrial giant Adani approval to extract coal from a vast, untapped reserve. The coal is to be transported to India, to fuel a new $2 billion power plant Adani is building with government support. Some of the electricity generated will be sold next door, to Bangladesh.

The project ensures that coal will remain woven into the economy of all three countries for decades.

But the story also encapsulates why Asia keeps burning a substance that scientists say contributes to climate change: abundant supply and demand, generous government support and scarce alternatives.

Quotable: “Throw enough subsidies and anything can be viable,” said one analyst. “If they did not have special treatment back in India they wouldn’t be able to use expensive Australian sourced coal viably.”