
apr 22, 2020 cement factories across the world are currently burning half a billion tons of coal every year. even if the cement factories of asia can burn as much as 160 million tons of plastic refuse each,qa stanford expert explains why we continue burning coal,by mark shwartz more electricity is produced from coal than from any other energy source, but burning coal comes with significant costs to humanity and the climate. each year, noxious fumes released from coal-fired power plants cause tens of thousands of premature deaths worldwide. coal plants also generate about 30 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.