I should definitely have prefaced it with the caveat regarding availability of natural gas infrastructure. Gas is cheaper, when you have the infrastructure in p

I should definitely have prefaced it with the caveat regarding availability of natural gas infrastructure. Gas is cheaper, when you have the infrastructure in place. Less developed countries does not have that luxury, and therefore choose coal because it was pretty much the only thing available until the current renewable boom. Today we also have LNG, but that seems to mostly be about energy independence. Russia can't simply turn off the tap for Lithuania or Poland, because they have a more pricy alternative method of delivery. For reference see the dramatic decrease of coal in the US in favor of natural gas. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-...