Global Coal Demand Hits Record High in 2024 – IEA

Paris – Global coal demand reached a record level in 2024, but is expected to stabilize until 2027 thanks to the boom in renewable energies, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on Wednesday.

After reaching “a record level” in 2024, at 8.77 billion tons, “global coal demand is expected to stabilize in the coming years” due to strong growth in renewable energies, the IEA says in its annual World Coal Report for the 2024-2027 period.

Global coal trade is also expected to reach a record level in 2024, at 1.55 billion tons, while prices today remain 50% above the average seen between 2017 and 2019.

The demand for coal continues to grow in certain emerging economies, where electricity demand is rising sharply in line with economic and demographic growth, such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam, the IEA further points out.

According to the report, “Asia remains the center of the international coal trade, with all the region’s largest importing countries, including China, India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, while the largest exporters are Indonesia and Australia”.

On the other hand, in most advanced economies, coal demand has already peaked and is set to flatten through to 2027, the IEA notes.

“The rapid deployment of clean energy technologies is reshaping the global electricity sector, which accounts for two-thirds of global coal use,” explains IEA’s Director of Energy Markets and Security Keisuke Sadamori, quoted in an IEA press release.

“However, weather factors will have a major impact on short-term coal demand trends”, he warns.

He adds that “the speed at which electricity demand grows will also be very important in the medium term”.