Despite the widely recognised need to quickly move away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, many countries continue to invest in this highly polluting source of energy. Despite highly country-specific contexts, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Michael Jakob and Jan C. Steckel (MCC/BTU) found that countries can be grouped into four broad clusters: those that have already announced coal phaseouts; those where coal use is in the process of being phased in; established users of the fuel; and major coal exporters. This guest post briefly presents the key findings of the recently published book, "The Political Economy of Coal".