Global coal consumption hit an all-time high in 2022: IEA

GLOBAL coal consumption hit a new record high in 2022 and will stay near that level this year as strong growth in Asia outpaces declines in the US and Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday (Jul 27).

Coal consumption last year rose by 3.3 per cent to 8.3 billion tonnes, according to the IEA’s mid-year Coal Market Update report.

This year and next year, small declines in coal-fired power generation are likely to be offset by rises in industrial use of coal, the IEA said.

Global coal demand is estimated to have grown by about 1.5 per cent in the first half of this year to a total of about 4.7 billion tonnes, lifted by an increase of 1 per cent in power generation and 2 per cent in non-power industrial uses.

In the first half of this year, coal demand fell faster than expected in the US and the EU – by 24 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.

However, demand from the two largest users, China and India, grew by more than 5 per cent, more than offsetting declines elsewhere. In 2023, China and India could account for nearly 70 per cent of the world’s global coal consumption, while the US and EU could account for just 10 per cent, the IEA said.

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“Coal is the largest single source of carbon emissions from the energy sector, and in Europe and the United States, the growth of clean energy has put coal use into structural decline,” said IEA director of energy markets and security Keisuke Sadamori.

“But demand remains stubbornly high in Asia, even as many of those economies have significantly ramped up renewable-energy sources,” he added.