The world won’t be able to release its grip on coal anytime soon.
“Nothing can destroy coal,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at the recent World Economic Forum. “Not the weather, not a bomb.”
U.S. exports of coal have been rising steadily to satisfy growing global demand for the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel, even though its domestic consumption has decreased.
On top of that, the world’s coal capacity reached a new record high of nearly 2,175 gigawatts in 2024, data from Global Energy Monitor showed on Feb. 6. Coal capacity is the overall power output that can be generated from coal-fired power plants.
“The global shift away from coal remains challenging, largely driven by rising demand in Asia, even as Europe and the U.S. see significant declines in coal consumption,” said Dorothy Mei, project manager for Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Mine Tracker.
Global coal demand is also expected to have breached another fresh record high of 8.77 billion tonnes in 2024, and will remain at similar levels until 2027, the International Energy Agency predicted.
The main culprits?
China recently reported that its coal imports surged 14.4% to a record high in 2024, amounting to 542.7 million metric tons compared with 474.42 million tons the year before.
The world’s second largest economy is also the largest coal consumer globally, accounting for more than 56% of global demand in 2023, latest figures by IEA showed.
China’s record-high coal stockpiling strategy is largely geared toward preparing the country for potential power shortages caused by extreme weather events, said Mei.
