Posted on 31 Jul 2023
Global coal consumption is expected to hover at record levels this year after hitting a new all-time high in 2022, as strong growth in Asia for both power generation and industrial applications outpaces declines in the U.S. and Europe, Mysteel Global learned from the latest market update released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Coal consumption in 2022 rose by 3.3% to 8.3 billion tonnes, setting a new record, according to the IEA's new report. In 2023 and 2024, small declines in coal-fired power generation are likely to be offset by rises in industrial use of coal, the report predicts, although there are wide variations between geographic regions.
Specifically, the world's coal demand is estimated to have grown by about 1.5% in the first half of this year to approximate 4.7 billion tonnes in total, lifted by an increase of 1% in power generation and 2% in non-power industrial uses.
By region, China, India and Southeast Asian countries together are expected to account for 3 out of every 4 tonnes of coal consumed worldwide this year. Elsewhere, the European coal use is expected to fall sharply this year as renewables expand, and as nuclear and hydropower partially recover from their recent slumps, while in the U.S., the move away from coal is also being accentuated by lower natural gas prices.
After three turbulent years marked by the COVID-19 shock in 2020, the strong post-pandemic rebound in 2021, and the turmoil caused by Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, coal markets have so far returned to more predictable and stable patterns in 2023. And coal prices fell in the first half of this year to the same levels as those seen in summer 2021 after last year's extreme price volatility, driven by ample supply and lower natural gas prices.
"Coal is the largest single source of carbon emissions from the energy sector, and in Europe and the U.S., the growth of clean energy has put coal use into structural decline," Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA's Director of Energy Markets and Security, was quoted as saying in the report.
"But demand remains stubbornly high in Asia, even as many of those economies have significantly ramped up renewable energy sources. We need greater policy efforts and investments -- backed by stronger international cooperation -- to drive a massive surge in clean energy and energy efficiency to reduce coal demand in economies where energy needs are growing fast."
Source:Mysteel Global
