Coal demand to hit record in 2024: global energy agency

Global demand for coal is higher than ever, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.

The world's consumption of coal is poised rise one per cent to 8.77 billion tonnes in 2024, which is "a record," the IEA said.

Coal had "rebounded strongly" after plummeting during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said.

Demand is set to stay relatively stable until the end of 2027 as renewable energy sources play a greater role in generating power and coal consumption levels off in China, the IEA said.

IEA director of energy markets and security Keisuke Sadamori said the rapid deployment of clean energy technologies was reshaping the global electricity sector, which accounts for two-thirds of the world's coal use.

"However, weather factors - particularly in China, the world's largest coal consumer - will have a major impact on short-term trends for coal demand. The speed at which electricity demand grows will also be very important over the medium term."

The electricity sector in China is particularly important to global coal markets, with one out of every three tonnes of coal consumed worldwide burned at a power plant in the country, the IEA said.

Coal demand in China was expected to grow by one per cent in 2024 to reach 4.9 billion tonnes, while India was poised to see demand growth of over five per cent to 1.3 billion tonnes.

In the European Union and the United States, coal demand continued to fall, by 12 per cent and five per cent respectively this year, compared with 23 per cent and 17 per cent in 2023.