It is the most polluting energy in the world. However, despite the damage caused to the climate, the planet still has projects for the construction or extension of coal-fired power plants in 34 different countries, denounces the annual report of the Global Energy Monitor published on Tuesday.
The world currently has more than 2,400 coal-fired power stations in 79 different countries – for almost 2,100 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity. And the planet plans to add another 457 GW of that capacity through new coal-fired power projects, the report from the San Francisco-based think tank says.
Coal is by far the most CO2-emitting energy.
China, the worst student of coal
In 2021, the fleet of coal-fired power plants in operation worldwide increased by a further 18.2 GW, a Covid-related rebound, the report said.
China “has continued to be the glaring exception to the current decline of power plants in development”, point out the authors. Last year, more than half (56%) of the 45 GW production units commissioned were in China (25.2 GW), 14% in India, and 11% in Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
In 2022, 24 coal-fired power plant projects are planned in India, 20 in Vietnam and 11 in Indonesia and Cambodia.
And, alone, China has almost as many opening projects (for a total of 25.2 GW of capacity) as the rest of the planet has closing projects (25.6 GW).
The report denounces “the resumption of building permits” for coal-fired power plants in China in early 2022, enabled by a “rewrite of the country’s energy policy” which followed electricity shortages and rationing in more than half provinces at the end of 2021.
Uncertainties on Chinese funding abroad
In Africa, where the next international climate conference is to be held (COP27 planned in Egypt, editor’s note), 12 countries still have coal-related projects, three less than in 2021 (Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Djibouti) .
The report points out that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commitment at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 to no longer finance the construction of coal-fired power plants outside China “renders many African projects obsolete”, with China being the main financial support for new plants on this continent.
But the authors are concerned that Beijing will carry out the contracts already signed:
To date, it is unclear whether China will cut the cord for the 56 planned power plants that its state-owned banks and private companies plan to finance.
86% OECD countries no longer have coal-related projects
In the rest of the world, the call made in Glasgow at the UN climate conference, COP26, by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, to abandon the construction of new coal-fired power stations to curb global warming, has “created an impression of momentum”: in all, 65 countries have pledged to stop building, 36 more than in January 2021.
Within the OECD, 86% of countries currently have no new coal projects underway. Six countries nevertheless formally continue to consider new projects: the United States, Australia, Poland, Mexico, Japan and Turkey, even if many of them “have no chance of seeing the light of day”, according to the authors.
For example, it is “unlikely” that the project supported in the United States by Donald Trump when he was president “will come to an end”. The report also considers that the planned 500 MW Polish plant in Leczna should not be built “given European climate policy”.
Some good news
The NGOs that make up the Global Energy Monitor nonetheless welcome the global trend towards a slowdown in new arrivals, apart from last year. While 34 countries plan to develop coal-fired power plants this year, there were 41 ahead of them last year.
There are only 170 power plants (89 GW) or 5% of the fleet in operation today, which are not affected by a phase-out date or a carbon neutrality objective.
Global Energy Monitor Report
In addition, if the plans to open coal-fired power plants continue, the annual development capacity has declined by 13% between 2021 and 2022, falling from 525 GW to 457 GW.
Good news that is still far from sufficient to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The recent IPCC report recommends reducing the use of coal by 75% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.