‘King Coal Ain’t Dead Yet’: Energy ‘Experts’ Proven Wrong Again As Chinese, Indian Coal Use Continues To Skyrocket

Driven by surging electricity demand in China and India, global coal use is set to hit an all-time high in 2024, disproving past predictions from ⚡Energy “experts.”

The International ⚡Energy Agency (IEA) — a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that provides ⚡Energy policy recommendations — said in its Coal 2020 report that “coal demand is expected to flatten” and that “it is likely that global coal demand peaked in 2013 at just over 8Bt .” Now, however, a Wednesday report from the agency predicts coal demand will reach a new record of nearly 8.8 billion tons in 2024, as increased coal use in China and India continues to outweigh a decline in U.S. consumption.

“While coal demand in advanced economies continues to shrink, this decline is expected to be offset by growth in a few emerging and developing economies,” the IEA report says. “As has been the case for 25 years, China, which consumes 30% more coal than the rest of the world put together, will continue to define global trends.”

American coal consumption is expected to decline 5% from 386 million tons in 2023 to 368 million tons in 2024, according to the IEA. Meanwhile, China is expected to see demand grow by 1% in 2024 to 4.9 billion tons and India is expected to increase consumption 5% to 1.3 billion tons.