New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report

LONDON

The world added the smallest amount of new coal capacity in two decades last year, a report said on Thursday, but use of the fossil fuel is still surging in China and India.

Coal accounts for just over a third of global electricity production and phasing it out is fundamental to meeting climate change goals.

Just 44 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity was produced globally last year, the lowest figure since 2004, according to the report by a group of energy- and environment-focussed research organisations and NGOs.

"Last year was a harbinger of things to come for coal as the clean energy transition moves full speed ahead," said Christine Shearer of the Global Energy Monitor, which co-authored the report.

But new capacity still outstripped coal closures, meaning a net increase in the global coal fleet, the report noted.

China began construction on a record number of coal plants last year.

Last year also saw a record number of new coal proposals in India, the report warned.

"Work is still needed to ensure coal power is phased out in line with the Paris climate agreement, particularly in the world's wealthiest nations," Shearer said.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says global coal demand will plateau from 2024-2027, with declining use in developed countries largely off-set by growth in emerging economies.

China's electricity sector accounts for a third of all coal consumed worldwide, according to the IEA, making its transition from the fuel key to global trends.

While coal construction hit record highs in China last year, new permits in the country fell back from the breakneck levels seen the two years prior, the report said.