3 ms·No, not again. Coal came from plants in an era where microbes could not yet decompose plants.by fooker 8y agoNo, not again. Coal came from plants in an era where microbes could not yet decompose plants.yostrovs 8y agoDon't forget to credit fungi too!swish_bob 8y agoPeat is the first step in forming coal. Peat still forms under the correct conditions, so coal can still be formed. Conditions might be rarer, but the steps aren't solely reliant on the absence of microbes which now exist.