India has told a high-level energy meeting here that it will not be fair to expect it to move away from coal to meet energy requirements of millions of Indians, underscoring that coal will continue to remain the “mainstay” of its energy needs for the “foreseeable future.”— Press Trust of India , 22 May 2015

Just as in all other countries, including the developed world, coal will continue to remain the mainstay of our energy related needs for the foreseeable future. In all fairness, it would not be correct to say or to expect India to move away from coal when we are at the cusp of our developmental journey.—Indian Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, Press Trust of India, 22 May 2015

Energy ministries from more than 30 nations are meeting at the UN this week, at the Sustainable Development for All Forum, to debate how best to supply electricity to the 1.3 billion people who don’t have it—at least 250 million of whom are Indians. Erasing energy poverty also means more coal for developing countries, and India is the developing world’s most ardent defender of its use. Southeast Asia is adding 205 gigawatts of coal overall by 2020, one of the most intense periods of coal-plant construction ever.—Eric Roston, Bloomberg, 22 May 2015

Gérard Mestrallet, chief executive of Engie, one of the world’s biggest power companies, says fossil fuel electricity generation is on the way out in Europe. “The choice we have made is very clear. We have stopped investing — and so did the others by the way — in thermal power generation in Europe and we are investing in renewables,” he said. Many of Europe’s big power companies have been forced to mothball gas plants and write down assets as they struggle with overcapacity and the growth of subsidised renewables.—Michael Stothard and Pilita Clark, Financial Times, 21 May 2015