India fuels worldwide jump in planned coal production
Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demand Enough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report. Global Energy Monitor , an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine…
New coalmine proposals in India have contributed to a worldwide increase in planned coal production, according to a recent report. Despite a global slowdown in demand for the fossil fuel, enough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to boost global supplies by 2.5 billion tonnes annually – an 11% rise from the previous year.
This surge was largely driven by India, with the states of Jharkhand and Odisha alone doubling their proposed new coalmines. This aligns with India's ambitious plan to increase the country's coal output, aiming to boost production by nearly 100 million tonnes to 1.15 billion tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The goal is to address rising electricity demand to support economic growth and combat increasingly severe and frequent heatwaves, exacerbated by the climate crisis.
However, despite signs that the world is beginning to shift away from coal in favor of renewable energy, the planned increases in coal production remain a concern. Coalmine proposals slowed in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, but have started to climb again, raising worries about potential future increases in coal mining.
The report found that enough new coalmines to produce about 113 million tonnes each year began operations in the past year, a 40% decrease from 2024, the lowest annual total in a decade. This decline was primarily due to a slowdown in new mines in China and Australia. Experts warn that India's rise in new mine proposals contrasts with the declining global demand for coal expected by the International Energy Agency for the end of the decade.
Wind and solar power overtook coal generation in the global electricity mix for the first time last year, marking a "milestone moment" for climate action. China and India played a significant role in this transition, while the US and Europe continued to rely more heavily on fossil fuels. Researchers at Global Energy Monitor, who authored the report, noted that the economic rationale for expanding coal mining becomes weaker as low-cost clean energy continues to replace coal.
They emphasized the opportunity for governments to cancel projects in the development pipeline before they progress to construction, rather than locking in additional coal production.
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