Boom and Bust Coal 2024

Global operating coal capacity increased by 48.4 GW in 2023, reaching a total of 2,130 GW, primarily driven by a surge of new plants in China. While construction starts hit record lows outside of China, China's new construction starts reached an eight-year high of 70.2 GW. Despite a growing number of countries committing to 'No New Coal', 75% of global operating coal capacity still lacks a specific closure commitment, hindering alignment with the Paris Agreement goals.

• Global operating coal capacity rose by 2% in 2023, with 69.5 GW commissioned and 21.1 GW retired, resulting in a net increase of 48.4 GW and a total global capacity of 2,130 GW. This represents the highest net increase in operating coal capacity since 2016.
• China is the primary driver of coal expansion; its 70.2 GW of new construction starts in 2023 is 19 times higher than the 3.7 GW started by the rest of the world. China's construction starts hit an eight-year high, while starts outside China hit a record annual low since 2015.
• Coal retirements in 2023 were the lowest in over a decade. The U.S. retired 9.7 GW (nearly half of the global total), down from 14.7 GW the previous year. European Union member states and the U.K. accounted for roughly a quarter of retirements, led by the U.K. (3.1 GW), Italy (0.6 GW), and Poland (0.5 GW).
• There is a significant gap in phaseout commitments: 75% (1,626 GW) of global operating coal capacity lacks a closure commitment. Only 15% (317 GW) of operating capacity has a commitment to retire in alignment with goals to limit warming to 1.5°C.
• While 101 countries have formally committed to 'No New Coal' or abandoned coal plans, global capacity has risen 11% since the 2015 Paris Agreement because new plant commissions have outpaced closures.

APA

Champenois, F. (2024). Boom and Bust Coal 2024. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/boom-and-bust-coal-2024

Chicago

Champenois, Flora. Boom and Bust Coal 2024. Global Energy Monitor, 2024. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/boom-and-bust-coal-2024.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Champenois |first1=Flora |title=Boom and Bust Coal 2024 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=29 April 2024 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/boom-and-bust-coal-2024 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{champenois2024boom, author = {Champenois, Flora}, title = {{Boom and Bust Coal 2024}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/boom-and-bust-coal-2024}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }