Global coal-fired electricity generation hit record highs in 2023, while thermal coal exports also surpassed 1 billion tonnes for the first time as coal use in the power system continued to increase, despite widespread efforts to curb the fuel.

Power generation from coal was 8,295 TWh in October worldwide, up 1% from the the same period in 2022 and the highest on record, according to environmental think tank Ember.

The world's thermal coal exports were at 1.004 billion tonnes in 2023, up by 62.5 million tonnes or 6.6% from 2022, showed data from ship-tracking platform Kpler.

Indonesia was the top thermal coal exporter in 2023, shipping out a record 505.4 million tonnes for the year, up 54 million tonnes or 12% from 2022's levels.

For the first time, Indonesia accounted for more than half of all thermal coal shipments in 2023, Kpler's data showed.

Australia was the second largest thermal coal exporter, shipping out 198 million tonnes, up 12.5 million tonnes or 7% from the year before.

Russia, South Africa and Colombia were also notable exporters, shipping 103 million tonnes, 60 million tonnes and 51 million tonnes respectively last year.

On the import side, China was the top thermal coal buyer, taking delivery of a record 325 million tonnes, which is 109 million tonnes more than 2022's total.

India was the second biggest importer (172 Mt), followed by Japan (109 Mt), South Korea (80 Mt) and China's Taiwan (51 Mt).

Other large importers included the Philippines (37 Mt) and Vietnam (31 Mt), both notching up strong double-digit percentage increases in year-on-year imports.

In major coal importing nations, coal-fired electricity generation increased on the year in China, India, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam, Ember data showed.

Coal-fired electricity output declined by 8.2% in Japan and by 4% in South Korea, but those reductions were nearly offset by the increase in Vietnam alone last year.

Globally, around 82% of all coal-fired electricity generation occurred within Asia in 2023, up from an average of around 75% in 2019, according to Ember.

Asia's share of coal use and imports may continue to climb as other regions further reduce coal consumption.

Total volumes of Asia's coal imports and consumption for power generation also look set to continue climbing, especially in major and fast-growing economies such as China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, where cheap power sources remain critical for industry competitiveness.

Those same countries are also committed to steep increases in the deployment of renewable energy sources, but over the near term they look just as liable to continue steering total coal use and emissions to further heights.

(Writing by Rebecca Liu  Editing by Harry Huo)
For any questions, please contact us by inquiry@fwenergy.com or +86-351-7219322.

Share this article

Connect with us