Why more coal is being burned than ever as demand in China and India soars despite carbon emissions warnings

The world is set to use more coal than ever before, this year, because of high insist in Asia and despite the cautionings over the harm that burning fossil fuels does to the set upet, a tell has shelp.

Global insist for the fossil fuel is foreseeed to hit a record 8.77 billion tonnes in 2024, and stay cforfeit that level for the next three years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) shelp on Wednesday.

Growth in renovelables is foresee to drive down coal use in the lengthyer term, but this year its impact will be more than offset by mighty insist for the carbon-burdensome resource in the two Asian huges.

Demand in China, by far the world’s bigst coal devourr, is probable to prolong by 1% in 2024 to accomplish 4.9 billion tonnes, cforfeitly a third higher than in the rest of the world combined. The country is set to convey in 500 million tonnes, more than double the previous convey in record.

One in every three tonnes of coal used worldexpansive is burned at a power set upt in China to cope with the country’s enormous electricity insist, the tell shelp.

India is also foreseeed to devour more coal than the EU and the US combined as insist in the Asian nation ascfinishs by more than 5% to 1.3 billion tonnes, a level previously only accomplished by China, the tell shelp.

Elsewhere, coal has dropped to 35% of the global power combine, its lowest level, as mighty prolongth in renovelable power supply helps countries encounter prolonging insist for energy, it shelp.

China’s reliance on coal should tight in the coming years as it speed ups prosperd and solar enbigment and progresss the originateion of nuevident power set upts.

Electricity usage is also foreseeed to prolong in 2025 due to a combination of factors, including the electrification of services enjoy convey and heating, rising insist for chillying, and increasing consumption from emerging sectors such as data centres, the tell shelp.

IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security, Keisuke Sadamori, shelp: “Weather factors – particularly in China, the world’s bigst coal devourr – will have a meaningful impact on low-term trfinishs for coal insist.

“The speed at which electricity insist prolongs will also be very convey inant over the medium term.”

China used around 3.6 billion tonnes of coal in 2023, rawly one billion more than in 2016, according to The Coal Hub, a coal industry website.

Global coal production is foreseeed to accomplish an all-time high, surpassing 9 billion tonnes for the first time, as the three bigst originaters, China, India and Indonesia, hit novel highs.

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