CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The World Bank has decades of experience supporting countries where coal mines and power plants are closing, wherever they are in the transition process.

Detailed explanation-2: -In addition to releasing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, burning fossil fuels also generates localized air pollutants-such as soot (fine particulate matter, or PM2. 5) and smog (ozone)-that increase the risk of death from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory illness among those exposed.

Detailed explanation-3: -Coal and its emissions are a critical issue as the world contends with both the global energy crisis and the climate crisis. All long-term IEA scenarios that meet international climate goals feature a rapid decline in global coal emissions.

Detailed explanation-4: -China is by far the leading hard coal producer worldwide.

Detailed explanation-5: -As incomes continued to rise, however, coal was slowly replaced with more efficient, convenient, and less polluting fuels such as oil, nuclear energy, natural gas, and, more recently, renewable energy.