Boom and Bust Coal 2024

In 2023, global coal capacity reached an all-time high of 2,130 GW, driven largely by China, despite a record low in new construction starts outside of China. Only 15% of current operating capacity is committed to retirement in line with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal, necessitating a phaseout rate of approximately two plants per week through 2040.

• Global coal power capacity and usage reached record highs in 2023, with the global fleet increasing by 48.4 gigawatts (GW), or 2%, to a total of 2,130 GW. China was responsible for two-thirds of these additions, while the rest of the world saw a 4.7 GW increase, marking the first uptick since 2019. Additionally, 2023 saw the lowest amount of coal capacity retired in over a decade.
• There is a significant disparity in new coal construction starts: while they hit a record annual low outside of China since 2015, they have increased for four consecutive years in China, reaching an eight-year high. Pre-construction capacity has risen by 6% since last year, with 268 GW under consideration in China (up from 249 GW in 2022) and 113 GW under consideration outside of China (up from 110 GW in 2022), the latter driven by a surge in proposals in India.
• Current retirement commitments are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit, with only 15% (317 GW) of global operating coal capacity committed to retire. To phase out operating coal power by 2040, an average of 126 GW must be retired annually for the next 17 years, which is approximately two plants per week. This requirement increases when accounting for the 578 GW of plants currently under construction or in pre-construction.

APA

TrendAsia (2024). Boom and Bust Coal 2024. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/en/boom-and-bust-coal-2024/

Chicago

TrendAsia. Boom and Bust Coal 2024. Trend Asia, 2024. https://trendasia.org/en/boom-and-bust-coal-2024/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=TrendAsia |title=Boom and Bust Coal 2024 |publisher=Trend Asia |date=11 April 2024 |url=https://trendasia.org/en/boom-and-bust-coal-2024/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trendasia2024boom, author = {TrendAsia}, title = {{Boom and Bust Coal 2024}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://trendasia.org/en/boom-and-bust-coal-2024/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }