cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52096768
- China accounts for over half of global coal production.
- Just six countries produce nearly 90% of the world’s coal.
- Asia dominates both total output and recent production growth.
China produces more coal than all nations combined.
According to the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, China produced 4.78 billion tonnes of coal in 2024, accounting for 51.7% of the global total.
Coal production is also highly concentrated beyond China. The top six producing countries, including India, Indonesia, and the U.S., together account for 87% of total supply.
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India ranks second at just over 1 billion tonnes, but its 11.7% share is far behind China’s majority.
The top six is rounded out by Indonesia (9.0%), the United States (5.0%), Australia (5.0%), and Russia (4.6%), after which production drops off sharply.
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But but every mountain is covered in solar panels?! At least that’s what the ML tell me.
China uses a lot of coal and they’re producing solar panels and generating solar energy at record rates, these aren’t mutually exclusive thoughts
How much do they burn though. Likely mostly export no?
China is the largest producer and consumer of coal and coal power in the world, and Beijing has been expanding coal power plant in the country. Beijing has announced that it will increase its fossil fuel energy consumption over the next five years by 8-10% annually. Coal will play an important role here.
China’s coal imports rose 1.5% YoY in Jan-Feb 2026, setting new record
The figure set a new record for the January-February period, defying expectations that imports could be significantly affected by Indonesia’s planned production cuts … In early January, Indonesia announced plans to reduce its coal production target to around 600 million tonnes in 2026, compared with about 790 million.
It’s noteworthy that China’s coal imports largely mirror Indonesian exports.
Sure, they’re producing. But who’s driving the apparent demand?
No one is driving this demand. Coal in steel, cement and concrete remains a major source of industrial fuel demand, and China is producing massive overcapacity in all these products. China counts for more than half of the world’s steel production, for example, beyond what global demand suggests would be the appropriate.
As an addition: In its report, The Global Coal Exit List 2025: Troubling Trends Towards Chemicals and Captive Power, the NGO Urgewald identifies India, China, and the U.S. as the main obstacles for a coal phase-out.