Boom & Bust 2020

The report finds that while global coal capacity grew by 34.1 GW in 2019, this was primarily driven by China, where 68.3 GW of new capacity began operating. Outside China, the global coal fleet shrank for the second consecutive year. Pre-construction pipelines are declining globally, with significant drops in India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In OECD countries, capacity has declined since 2011, though Japan remains a major driver of new coal power. Financing is becoming more restrictive, with no direct project finance from major US, European, or Australian banks for 2019 constructions, although public financing from China and India continues to support new projects.

• The global coal fleet grew by 34.1 GW in 2019, marking the first net capacity increase since 2015, though this growth was almost entirely due to China.
• Outside of China, the global coal fleet has shrunk for two consecutive years because the number of plant closures exceeded the number of new plants starting operation.
• Global coal power generation decreased by 3% in 2019 compared to 2018, resulting in a record low average global utilization rate of 51%.
• The pipeline for pre-construction coal capacity is shrinking globally, with significant reductions in India (50%), Southeast Asia (22%), Africa (40%), and Latin America (60%) between 2018 and 2019.
• In the US, coal plant closures increased by 67% under the Trump administration (averaging 13.7 GW per year) compared to the Obama administration (averaging 8.2 GW per year).
• Japan is currently the largest driver of new coal power in the OECD, developing 11.9 GW domestically and financing 24.7 GW abroad.
• China's coal capacity continues to exceed demand, leading the central government to designate 40% of new capacity that began operating in 2019 as emergency reserves to limit its use.
• Direct project financing for coal construction starting in 2019 was absent from commercial banks in Australia, Europe, and the US.
• Public financing from China remains a critical source for international coal projects, with the Export-Import Bank of China supporting 2.8 GW of new construction outside China in 2019.
• In India, new coal construction in 2019 relied heavily on state-controlled financing through the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC).

APA

Shearer, C., Myllyvirta, L., Yu, A., Aitken, G., Mathew-Shah, N., Dallos, G., & Nace, T. (2020). Boom & Bust 2020. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf

Chicago

Shearer, Christine, Lauri Myllyvirta, Aiqun Yu, Greig Aitken, Neha Mathew-Shah, Gyorgy Dallos, and Ted Nace. Boom & Bust 2020. Global Energy Monitor, 2020. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shearer |first1=Christine |last2=Myllyvirta |first2=Lauri |last3=Yu |first3=Aiqun |last4=Aitken |first4=Greig |last5=Mathew-Shah |first5=Neha |last6=Dallos |first6=Gyorgy |last7=Nace |first7=Ted |title=Boom & Bust 2020 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=March 2020 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shearer2020boom, author = {Shearer, Christine and Myllyvirta, Lauri and Yu, Aiqun and Aitken, Greig and Mathew-Shah, Neha and Dallos, Gyorgy and Nace, Ted}, title = {{Boom \& Bust 2020}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/BoomAndBust_2020_Indonesian_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }