Author: PPD Team Date: 04/04/2025
Global coal power additions in 2024 dropped to their lowest level in two decades, according to a new report by US-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM). Despite the slowdown, the overall coal fleet still grew, driven mainly by new capacity in China and India.
GEM’s Global Coal Plant Tracker found that 44.1 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity were commissioned and 25.2 GW retired in 2024, resulting in a net increase of 18.8 GW. This is significantly below the 20-year annual average of 72 GW.
China accounted for 70% of the new capacity, adding 30.5 GW in 2024. It also saw a sharp rise in new construction starts, reaching 94.5 GW—the highest in nearly a decade. India proposed 38.4 GW of new coal projects, marking its highest-ever annual proposal.
Coal development has become increasingly concentrated. Ten countries now account for 96% of coal capacity under development, with China and India making up 87% of this.
Outside China, coal capacity shrank by 9.2 GW as retirements exceeded new additions. In Europe, the EU27 retired 11 GW—four times more than the previous year—and the UK shut down its last coal plant. In the US, retirements slowed to 4.7 GW, the lowest in ten years, though 2025 retirements are expected to exceed 12.3 GW.
OECD countries continue to move away from coal. Proposed projects have fallen from 142 in 2015 to just five. Japan and South Korea remain the only OECD members still planning new coal plants.
In Southeast Asia, new coal proposals have slowed, with Indonesia and Malaysia committing to phaseouts. In Latin America, only Brazil and Honduras still have coal proposals, while Panama aims to phase out coal by 2026.
Africa’s coal development remains limited. Most countries are shifting to renewables and gas, although new projects in Zimbabwe and Zambia—supported by Chinese developers—run counter to China’s 2021 pledge to stop building coal plants overseas.
Christine Shearer, project manager of GEM’s Global Coal Plant Tracker, stated: “Coal power set records last year – but not the ones industry would like to see… Work is still needed to ensure coal power is phased out in line with the Paris climate agreement, particularly in the world’s wealthiest nations.”