The major world powers continue to massively use coal. In several areas, such as electricity production, this fossil energy remains essential. France, for its part, is a good student with a drastic drop in its use.
Coal is still widely used around the world
The year 2024 marks a new milestone in the history of global coal consumption. The International Energy Agency (IEA) confirms a use of 7.8 billion tonnes. This fuel, once relegated to the status of an energy vestige, remains at the heart of many national strategies. And this, despite its significant contribution to global warming. On a global scale, the use of coal continues to grow, driven by emerging countries and economic giants like China. Despite international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, coal continues to occupy a dominant place in global energy production.
China, the world’s largest consumer and producer, illustrates this trend with impressive figures: nearly a third of global coal extraction is used to power its power plants. In November 2024, its production reached a historic peak of 14 million tonnes per daya level that Beijing plans to maintain to avoid any shortage. In emerging countries, economic and demographic growth is also fueling this increase. Indonesia, Vietnam and India are experiencing growing demand for electricity to meet the needs of industrialization and urbanization.
These nations still largely depend on coal, despite stated ambitions to diversify their energy mixes. At the same time, the coal trade, dominated by exchanges in Asia between exporters such as Australia and Indonesia and importers such as China and Japan, is also reaching record levels. This lucrative market, with a price of around 129 euros per tonne, maintains the interest of producers, despite growing competition from renewable energies.
An opposite trend in France
Conversely, France stands out for a constant decrease in its coal consumptionreaching its historic low in 2023 at 57 TWh, a decrease of 23% compared to the previous year. Several factors explain this decline, including supply difficulties, the drop in demand for steel, and the rise of renewable energies and nuclear power. The partial closure of certain blast furnaces also illustrates this transition, with the cast iron sector still representing 62% of national coal consumption.
The production of electricity and heat, historically heavily dependent on coal, has also seen a significant decline thanks to better performance of the nuclear and renewable sectors. Industrial sectors, although they continue to use this fuel, are gradually moving towards other, more sustainable sources of energy.
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