Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy, security, and global climate goals

The document analyzes the global pipeline of coal-to-gas conversions, identifying approximately 89.6 GW of such projects in development. It argues that these projects risk locking in fossil fuel use for decades and creating stranded assets, especially as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for renewables with storage becomes more competitive than gas. The report highlights East Asia, Europe, and North America as the regions with the most significant coal-to-gas activity and warns that methane leakage from gas infrastructure can make gas-fired power more damaging to the climate than coal if leakage exceeds 3%.

• Approximately 89.6 GW of global gas-fired capacity currently in development are coal-to-gas conversions or replacements, which represents 13% of the total 692.5 GW of gas plants in development. If completed, these projects would result in 5,070 million tonnes of CO2e lifetime emissions.
• East Asia has the highest volume of coal-to-gas conversions in development at 29.6 GW, with South Korea (12.7 GW) and Taiwan (11.3 GW) as the leading countries. This would produce 1,843 million tonnes of CO2e lifetime emissions.
• Europe has 19.7 GW of coal-to-gas conversions in development, with Poland (5.4 GW) and Germany (4.1 GW) leading. However, the EU is the region with the most project delays or cancellations, totaling 3,480 MW of cancellations and 1,346 MW of shelved projects in 2022.
• North America has 18.6 GW of coal-to-gas conversions in development, representing 44% of the region's 42.6 GW of gas-fired capacity in development. The United States accounts for 16.8 GW and Canada for 1.8 GW.
• There is a significant financial risk of stranded assets due to planned gas infrastructure expansions totaling US$797.4 billion across North America (US$389.2 billion), East Asia (US$262.8 billion), and Europe/EU (US$135.4 billion).
• Gas is not a viable 'bridge fuel' because methane leakage can negate CO2 reductions; if methane leaks exceed 3% of the gas content, gas-fired power is worse for the climate than coal. Methane has a warming impact 84 times greater than CO2 over 20 years.
• Economic analysis shows that renewables with storage are often cheaper than gas. In Europe, TransitionZero LCOE analysis indicates that solar and onshore wind with storage are significantly cheaper than natural gas across multiple countries, including Poland, Germany, and the UK.

APA

Martos, J., Joly, J., Langenbrunner, B., Abdallah, N., Ajaz, W., Hassan, H., (Wynn), F. Y., Clark, G., Fralikhina, H., Mei, D., Milanzi, N., Zimmerman, S., & Bauer, S. (2022). Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy, security, and global climate goals. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-CoalToGas-Briefing-2022_v4_11.pdf

Chicago

Martos, Jenny, Julie Joly, Baird Langenbrunner, Nagwa Abdallah, Warda Ajaz, Harvey Hassan, Feng Yun (Wynn), et al. Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy, security, and global climate goals. Global Energy Monitor, 2022. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-CoalToGas-Briefing-2022_v4_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martos |first1=Jenny |last2=Joly |first2=Julie |last3=Langenbrunner |first3=Baird |last4=Abdallah |first4=Nagwa |last5=Ajaz |first5=Warda |last6=Hassan |first6=Harvey |last7=(Wynn) |first7=Feng Yun |last8=Clark |first8=Gregor |last9=Fralikhina |first9=Hanna |display-authors=etal |title=Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy, security, and global climate goals |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=October 2022 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-CoalToGas-Briefing-2022_v4_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martos2022coaltogas, author = {Martos, Jenny and Joly, Julie and Langenbrunner, Baird and Abdallah, Nagwa and Ajaz, Warda and Hassan, Harvey and (Wynn), Feng Yun and Clark, Gregor and Fralikhina, Hanna and Mei, Dorothy and Milanzi, Nyasha and Zimmerman, Scott and Bauer, Sophia}, title = {{Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy, security, and global climate goals}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-CoalToGas-Briefing-2022_v4_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }