The war against Ukraine has changed the world’s energy priorities; coal use will reach a new high due to the gas crisis.

According to the IEA, in 2024 the world’s coal use will reach a new high of 8.7 billion tons and remain at a high level for several years. The cause is the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has led to a global gas crisis.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, global gas prices have increased, coal production and trade have increased, and coal-fired electricity generation has reached record levels. Also contributing to the trend is that China uses 30% more coal than the rest of the world.

In developed economies, such as the US and the EU, coal-fired electricity production has already passed its peak and will decrease by 5% and 12% this year, respectively. In contrast, in China coal demand will grow by 1% to a record 4.9 billion tons, and in India – by more than 5%, to 1.3 billion tons.

The IEA hopes that the development of renewable energy will reduce coal demand and stabilize by 2027, even if electricity use increases sharply.