Coal Demand Rises Again
In 2018, global coal consumption rose for the second straight year, but remains about 2.5% below the peak level in 2013. Asia Pacific coal consumption did reach a new all-time high, but consumption growth there has sharply slowed from the torrid pace of 2000-2010.
Coal consumption in most of the developing world continues to grow. Asia Pacific increased consumption by the most overall, but its 2.5% growth rate lagged Africa's (+3.9%) and Central and South America (+3.7%).
In the major developed regions of the world (including developed countries in Asia Pacific), coal consumption continues to decline. Coal consumption in the EU has been in decline since 1989, and U.S. coal consumption has steadily fallen for a decade.
The world overall has seen coal's share decline in the overall energy consumption mix. In 2018, coal consumption represented 27.2% of primary energy consumption. That is down from 30% a decade ago. The five countries most dependent on coal for primary energy consumption are:
South Africa - 70.8% of primary energy consumption
China - 58.2%
India - 55.9%
Kazakhstan - 53.4%
Poland - 48.0%
Asia Pacific comes in at 47.5%, while the EU and U.S. are respectively at 13.2% and 13.8%.
China remains firmly in first place as the world's largest coal consumer and producer. The Top 5 producers, along with the share of global coal production, are:
China - 46.0%
India - 9.5%
US - 8.6%
Indonesia - 6.8%
Australia - 6.1%
Since global energy consumption continues to rise, which energy sources are pushing coal's share down? The biggest factor in stemming coal's growth has been rapid growth in natural gas and renewables. Those sources will be covered in the next two articles.
Source: Forbes