Demand for thermal coal used by the power sector was supported by low rainfall in the south of China, which saw output from hydropower facilities in provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan slide.
Coal use leads to droughts, which reduces Hydro performance, which leads to greater coal use…
Coal is a very large export of Australia, as its very reliant on imports of a lot of goods to sustain itself. It’s a game of figuring out a way to get Austalia out of that hole if you want to stop coal from being mined.
Australia’s coal exports to China were non-existent from 2020 - Jan 2023 due to an import ban. Most of AU coal now goes to Japan.
China now imports most of its coal from Indonesia and Russia.
https://www.ga.gov.au/digital-publication/aecr2023/coal
https://www.energymonitor.ai/industry/weekly-data-china-coal-imports-hit-a-high-but-not-from-australia/?cf-view
Yep.