The problem is huge, but not quite as grim as this. I think that you may be confusing primary (thermal) energy in coal with electricity supplied by coal. In 201

The problem is huge, but not quite as grim as this. I think that you may be confusing primary (thermal) energy in coal with electricity supplied by coal. In 2018, coal was used to generate about 10,000 TWh of electricity: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2019/electricity https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2019/electr... Renewable generators only need to displace the electrical output of combustion based power plants, not the greater thermal energy contained in source fuels. A highly electrified, renewables-dominated world would consume less primary energy at the same level of energy service consumption. There's a lot less energy going toward production of useless waste heat when renewable electricity displaces fossil combustion electricity. The average American coal plant turns only 37.4% of coal's thermal energy into electrical energy: https://processbarron.com/u-s-coal-power-plant-efficiency-stack/ https://processbarron.com/u-s-coal-power-plant-efficiency-st... In 2019 the United States lost 2/3 of all primary energy as waste heat: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/images/charts/Energy/Energy_2019_United-States.png https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/images/charts/Ene...