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ClimateProgress <br />Coal and Gas to Begin `Terminal Decline' In Less Than A Decade, <br />Bloomberg Says <br />by Joe Romm Jun 13, 2016 <br />A stunning new forecast on "peak fossil fuels for electricity" by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) <br />concludes that "coal and gas will begin their terminal decline in less than a decade." <br />It's been clear for a while that coal demand is plateauing, if it hasn't already peaked. But BNEF explains that <br />of the "eight massive shifts coming soon to power markets," #1 is "There Will Be No Golden Age of Gas." <br />Here is the core finding of BNEF's "annual long -term view of how the world's power markets will evolve in <br />the future," their New Energy Outlook (NEO): <br />Cheaper coal and cheaper gas will not derail the transformation and decarbonisation of the world's power <br />systems. By 2040, zero - emission energy sources will make up 60% of installed capacity. Wind and solar will <br />account for 64% of the 8.6TW [1 Terawatt = 1,000 Gigawatts] of new power generating capacity added <br />worldwide over the next 25 years, and for almost 60% of the $11.4 trillion invested. <br />These conclusions may come as a surprise to the vast majority of U.S. policy- and opinion - makers, but all the <br />way back in November the International Energy Agency came to a similar conclusion: "Driven by continued <br />policy support, renewables account for half of additional global generation, overtaking coal around 2030 to <br />become the largest power source." <br />I've been reporting on this trend in my ongoing series "almost everything you know about climate change <br />solutions is probably outdated" (see, for instance, "We Can Stop Searching For The Clean Energy Miracle. It's <br />Already Here "). <br />BNEF, however, keeps putting out the most comprehensive, up -to -date, chart- filled, data - driven analyses of <br />the clean energy revolution — and it is all must -read stuff. <br />Let me single out two charts in particular, an amazing one you've probably seen before, and an equally <br />amazing one you probably haven't. <br />http: / /thi n kprogress.org /cl imate/ 2016 /06/13/ 3787700 /coal- gas - plants- cheap - renewables/ <br />