World coal consumption set to reach new high

World coal consumption will increase this year by 1.2%, thus surpassing the previous record of 2013 and for the first time the threshold of 8 billion tons per year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In its annual report on the fuel, which is and will continue to be the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the short and medium term, the IEA calculates that the demand for coal will remain around that level until 2025.

The drop in demand in the more mature markets, such as Europe and the United States, will be offset by the increase in consumption in emerging Asian countries.

The key to the evolution lies, above all, in China, which is by far the country that uses the most coal, 53% of the total.

The IEA anticipates there a limited progression of 0.7% per year until the middle of this decade, provided that renewable electricity generation grows by almost a thousand terawatt hours, equivalent to all of Japan’s current electricity capacity.

In India, where coal consumption has doubled since 2007 with annual growth of 6%, this rate is expected to continue, which will be the main vector of growth.

The increase in the use of coal in the world this year is directly related to the new context created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a sharp rise in gas prices and the search for alternatives.

Coal has been one of those alternatives, for example for the generation of electricity in the European Union (EU), where the rise in the price of gas has been more pronounced.

World coal consumption set to reach new high

World coal consumption will increase this year by 1.2%, thus surpassing the previous record of 2013 and for the first time the threshold of 8 billion tons per year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In its annual report on the fuel, which is and will continue to be the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the short and medium term, the IEA calculates that the demand for coal will remain around that level until 2025.

The drop in demand in the more mature markets, such as Europe and the United States, will be offset by the increase in consumption in emerging Asian countries.

The key to the evolution lies, above all, in China, which is by far the country that uses the most coal, 53% of the total.

The IEA anticipates there a limited progression of 0.7% per year until the middle of this decade, provided that renewable electricity generation grows by almost a thousand terawatt hours, equivalent to all of Japan’s current electricity capacity.

In India, where coal consumption has doubled since 2007 with annual growth of 6%, this rate is expected to continue, which will be the main vector of growth.

The increase in the use of coal in the world this year is directly related to the new context created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a sharp rise in gas prices and the search for alternatives.

Coal has been one of those alternatives, for example for the generation of electricity in the European Union (EU), where the rise in the price of gas has been more pronounced.