Despite the global push to phase down fossil fuels and transition to clean energy, coal continues to hold a strong foothold. It remains a dominant force in the world’s energy mix, with new coal-fired power plants still being built to meet rising electricity demand.
By mid-2025, about 2,500 coal plants will remain operational worldwide. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), coal generates about 35% of global electricity as of 2025.
As of last year, 227 gigawatts of coal power were under construction worldwide, with hundreds more gigawatts in planning.
Global Energy Monitor reports that 98% of this new capacity is concentrated in only 15 countries. China leads with 1,195 coal plants, producing more than half of the world’s coal-fired electricity.
India follows with nearly 300, while the United States still operates between 200 and 250 plants, placing it in the global top five.
According to a report, China plans to carry on with building coal-fired power plants all the way to 2027, particularly in places that need to match high power demand or grid stabilization.
In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is expanding through ‘captive’ coal plants that supply industrial nickel, cobalt, and aluminum operations. Other countries developing new coal capacity include Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, Zimbabwe, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines, where the Atimonan One Energy project in Quezon province is being developed as a modern coal plant.
While strategies in countries such as China, India, Russia, and Turkey diverge from the 2015 Paris Agreement’s pathways, the respective governments frame their approach as alternative timelines rather than outright rejection.
All four nations are signatories to the agreement and recognize the risks of surpassing the 1.5-2 °C warming threshold. Still, they prioritize short-term growth and energy security, planning to peak emissions later and rely on future technologies to catch up.
China has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060, though the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) warns the carbon budget for 1.5 °C may be exhausted before then.
India has set its net-zero target for 2070, two decades later than the Paris benchmark of 2050.
Russia aims at net zero by 2060 while continuing to support coal and fossil exports. Turkey has legislated a 2053 net-zero goal but continues to pursue new coal projects.
These governments are betting on more efficient, modern coal plants and future renewable energy expansion to allow for short-term overshoot, though rising electricity demand risks locking them into long-term coal dependency.
For them, coal also represents energy security, industrial stability, and millions of jobs.
Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump recently announced $625 million in new investment to expand the coal industry.
He also said his administration is revising the Clean Air Act to align with its energy policy, arguing that emissions should only be regulated with clear evidence linking a specific power plant to environmental harm.
The administration has emphasized expanding energy production as a priority while signaling that it does not plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from US coal plants.
In developing countries such as the Philippines, coal remains central to the power sector, supplying more than 60% of electricity generation.
Demand is projected to grow by about 5% annually through 2027, with coal providing the reliable baseload capacity needed for grid stability.
Although the Department of Energy declared a moratorium on new ‘greenfield’ coal projects in 2020, major plants such as Meralco PowerGen’s USD2-Billion plant in Atimonan are still moving forward.
The Philippines’ participation in the ongoing global reliance on coal for energy generation is extremely small compared to other coal-dependent countries.
Advocates for the immediate phaseout of coal facilities need to focus their efforts more on nations with significantly higher levels of coal dependency.
Renewable energy facility models are increasingly being promoted and developed.
However, the high costs of construction and operation, along with the inconsistency in energy generation, continue to pose challenges. The full potential of these technologies has yet to be realized in terms of providing reliable and economically affordable energy for consumers.
Offshore wind, for example. Yes, it’s clean. But it’s also hugely expensive and comes with serious economic and environmental concerns. Evidently, around the world, many offshore wind projects are now struggling.
For now, coal is far from obsolete. New plants are not remnants of the past but reinforcements for energy security, powering homes, factories, and industries.