Key facts
- New coalmining projects proposed last year could increase global supplies by 2.5 billion tonnes annually.
- This represents an 11% increase from the previous year.
- India's Jharkhand and Odisha states doubled their proposals for new coalmines.
- India aims to increase its coal production to 1.15 billion tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
- Globally, the startup of new coalmining projects has fallen, with 113 million tonnes annually beginning operations last year, down 40% from 2024.
- Wind and solar power surpassed coal generation in the global electricity mix for the first time last year.
New coalmining projects proposed globally last year could significantly boost future supplies, with India spearheading the increase despite a global trend towards renewable energy. According to Global Energy Monitor, proposals for new mines could add 2.5 billion tonnes per year to global supplies, an 11% rise from the previous year. This surge is largely attributed to ambitious plans by India's states Jharkhand and Odisha, aiming to increase the country's coal output to meet rising electricity demand for economic growth and to combat severe heatwaves.
This expansion comes even as the global startup of new coalmining projects has declined. Last year, new mines beginning operations were down 40% from 2024, reaching their lowest annual total in a decade, with significant drops in China and Australia. A separate report from Ember indicates that wind and solar power generation surpassed coal for the first time globally last year, marking a milestone for climate action.
Global Energy Monitor warns that India's increased mine proposals contradict the International Energy Agency's predictions of a slowdown in global coal demand by the end of the decade. Tiffany Means, a co-author of the report, highlighted the weakening economic rationale for expanding coal mining as low-cost clean energy displaces it, urging governments to cancel projects in the development pipeline.