Coal demand is set to smash all records this year and remain at close to record levels for the foreseeable future, predicts a new report from the International Energy Agency.
Some 8.7bn tonnes are expected to be used this year due to global gas supply problems still lingering from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Production has also hit a record since the invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices soaring said the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Consumption this year is expected to hit 8.77bn and stay at near-record levels until 2027.
Growing usage in China is offsetting declines in the US and Europe where usage is set to fall by 5% and 12% respectively this year.
Britain closed its last coal-fired power station in September.
India is seeing demand rise more strongly even than China, with the IEA forecasting a 5% jump to 1.3bn tonnes and closer to parity with China where demand has risen by 1%.
Growing use of renewable energy sources not start to see fossil fuel usage fall before the end of the decade, the report said, but will soak up a predicted surge in electricity use by developing countries.
Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security, said: “The rapid deployment of clean energy technologies is reshaping the global electricity sector, which accounts for two-thirds of the world’s coal use.
As a result, our models show global demand for coal plateauing through 2027 even as electricity consumption rises sharply.”
Shares in Glencore PLC (LSE:LON:GLEN), which is one of the largest coal producers outside of China, eased 0.5% to 361p.