BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9. Projected for 2024, global coal demand is anticipated to hold steady at approximately 8.38 billion tons, representing a marginal decline of 0.1 percent, Trend reports.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this level remains unprecedented prior to 2022. In the realm of electricity, a reduction of around 1 percent is foreseen, driven by the persistent robust expansion of renewable energy generation amidst modest growth in electricity demand.
Conversely, the industrial sector is expected to witness a minor increase of about 1.5 percent as economic conditions improve.
Regionally, Asia will experience growth, notably driven by India and Southeast Asia, which will counterbalance declines observed in the US and the EU. Additionally, mature economies such as Japan, Korea, Australia, and Canada, where coal demand peaked some years ago, are also observing diminishing demand.
As the IEA expects, China will maintain its position as the largest contributor to global coal consumption, with the power sector accounting for a third of it. When considering India, the combined coal consumption of China and India accounts for double the amount consumed by the rest of the world. With the recent growth in Southeast Asia, the dominance of the Asian continent in coal consumption is further reinforced.
It's expected that by 2024, China, India, and the ASEAN region will make up 76 percent of the total share. Meanwhile, the share of coal consumption held by the US and the EU, which accounted for 40 percent three decades ago, is projected to decline to 8 percent by 2024, the agency concluded.