Global coal production capacity saw a 2% increase in 2023, with China leading the charge in new additions.
The rest of the world also experienced a slight increase for the first time since 2019, according to data from the Global Coal Plant Tracker.
The report revealed that 69.5 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity were started in 2023, while 21.1 GW were shut down. This resulted in a net increase of 48.4 GW over the year, bringing the total worldwide capacity to 2,130 GW.
Despite positive trends following the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, global operating coal power capacity has increased by 11%. Over half of the countries with existing coal plants have either not increased or have reduced their coal power capacity due to environmental concerns, poor economic returns, and public resistance.
The report emphasized the need for countries to improve their commitments to phasing out coal and converting these commitments into specific plans for shutting down individual plants. Currently, only 15% of the world’s coal power capacity is set to be retired in a manner consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
China saw new construction starts increase for the fourth consecutive year, despite President Xi’s pledge to “strictly control” coal projects in 2021. Outside of China, there is still 113 GW of coal under consideration, with a surge in proposals in India.
The report underlined the importance of halting the proposal and construction of new coal plants to align with climate goals. It also highlighted the need for countries with existing coal plants to accelerate their closures and for those planning new coal projects to abandon them altogether.
Twelve more countries joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 2023, committing to the ‘No New Coal’ initiative. This brings the total to 101 countries pledging not to build new coal plants or scrapping plans for new projects over the past decade.
The pace of financial institutions adopting new coal policies has slowed, with fewer new policies introduced in 2023 compared to the previous year. The report also noted a rise in “captive” coal power projects used for industrial processes in various countries.
While the current rise in coal capacity is considered unusual, indicators suggest a shift away from this trend.
The report urged nations with existing coal plants marked for retirement to expedite closures and those considering new coal projects to abandon them to meet climate goals.
