Global coal demand is forecast to edge down through the end of this decade as competition intensi?es with other power sources – including renewables, natural gas and nuclear – according to the 2025 edition of the IEA’s annual market report. Coal 2025, out recently, explores current market dynamics and provides forecasts through 2030 for demand, supply and trade at the global and regional level. It also examines key trends in investment, costs and pricing.
the report ?nds that global coal demand is on course to rise by 0.5% in 2025, reaching a record 8.85 billion tonnes.
in several major markets, consumption patterns diverged from their recent trends. In India, an early and intense monsoon season resulted in a decline in annual coal use for only the third time in ?ve decades.
in the United States, higher natural gas prices and policy measures that slowed coal plant retirements lifted coal consumption, which had been on a downward trajectory for the previous 15 years.