A huge shift in coal consumption over the last 30 years saw Asia’s use rocket while past heavy user Europe has cut back, new figures released yesterday show.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), while coal use in Europe and Russia dropped by more than a third over the last thirty years, consumption rocketed in China by 400%.

The next biggest increase between 1980-2010 was found in Central and Southern America (156%).

China accounted for most of the Asian coal needs, with the superpower’s demand increasing nearly five-fold, and almost half of global coal use in 2010, the EIA said.