Despite heightened fears of climate crisis, the global coal market remains upbeat. India and China, two of the largest producers and consumers of coal, have ramped up their coal production and show no signs of slowdown.

The United States, Australia, and Indonesia follow the big two, but their production and consumption levels are far less than China’s.

Reports came in early August that there has been a surge in Chinese coal mine approvals. In the first half of 2019 alone, the government has approved the building of new coal production with annual capacity of 141 million tons. In comparison, approval for new capacities in 2018 was just 25 million tons. 

Coal plants with a capacity of 972,514 MW are currently operational in China. In comparison, the entire European union has operational plants with combined capacity of only 154,790 MW.

China is also the largest exporter of coal equipment and is building around 140 coal plants in other countries. In fact, coal and coal-tech exports were the biggest highlight of Beijing’s Belt and Road plan. 

Besides exporting, the country also imports high-quality coal. China’s coal imports from Indonesia in May were the highest since 2014, indicating a growing demand for coal in the power and steel manufacturing sectors.

This demand swiftly translated into record production. In July, coal output growth reached the highest level in three years.

India, too, has been proactive in its efforts to ensure growth in both production and consumption of coal.

73 percent of India’s electricity comes from coal. India’s coal production for 2018–19 is 730.35 million tons. The country is now planning to set an ambitious total coal production target of 1 billion tons for the 2022–23. 

To achieve this, the government has directed Coal India Ltd.—government’s major coal entity—to commission new modernized “mega mines,” each of which can produce 1 million tons per year.

According to the India Energy Security Scenarios (IESS) 2047, the share of coal in overall energy supply is set to be between 38 and 43 percent, the current share being 58 percent.

The United States, which is not bound by the fossil-hating Paris agreement, has been strengthening its fossil fuel sector. The booming natural gas sector has reduced the high dependence on coal. The US Energy Information Administration has forecast the overall coal production to drop by 2.7 percent in 2019.

Overall, the coal sector is surging ahead with high demand. Any offset to production, as in the U.S., will come from increased use of natural gas, not climate fears.

Photo by Adi Constantin on Unsplash.