the study published The International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed this month that global coal demand and global coal production hit new records in 2024, largely as a result of both supply and demand from communist China.
China – the world’s worst polluted country by several indicators, include Carbon emissions – According to the IEA, “we consume 30% more coal than the rest of the world combined.” study. The country's government has approved hundreds of new coal-fired power plants in the past two years, and despite being a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, it accounts for a large share of global fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas production. suggests that it will expand.
Chinese state media openly brags about how much coal the country is stockpiling to meet surging demand for electricity and winter heat. Beijing has responded to the alleged “climate crisis” by arguing that the Western world needs to dramatically reduce its use of fossil fuels and absolve requesting countries from any responsibility. is being carried out. adopt “Common but different responsibilities” for pollution.
The IEA is a global intergovernmental organization that was originally part of the structure of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). On December 18th, published Annual Survey of Coal Consumption and Production Around the World, titled coal 2024.
“Global coal use has rebounded strongly after plummeting at the height of the pandemic and is expected to rise to a record 8.77 billion tonnes in 2024,” the IEA documented. “Coal prices today remain 50% higher than the 2017-2019 average. Coal production reached a record high in 2024, but growth remains flat until 2027 as structural changes take hold. It is expected that
The study identified China and India as the most prominent countries increasing their coal consumption dramatically.
“At the regional level, China's coal demand is expected to increase by 1% in 2024, reaching a new record of 4.9 billion tonnes,” the report said. “India's demand is expected to grow by more than 5% to 1.3 billion tons, a level that only China has reached so far.”
In contrast, “coal demand continues to decline in the European Union and the United States, but at a much slower pace; down 12% and 5%, respectively, this year compared to 23% and 17% in 2023. It is expected that
National Bureau of Statistics of China corroborated The IEA released its record coal production estimates on December 16, releasing statistics showing that China mined 427.98 million tonnes in November, for an average of 14.27 million tonnes.
The study found that both coal demand and coal prices rose dramatically over the past two years, due to global civil rights restrictions allegedly imposed to stop the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. This is believed to be due to the situation returning to normal following the shutdown. China has imposed some of the world's most barbaric civil rights restrictions within its borders. These include brutal city-wide lockdowns that have effectively put tens of millions of people under house arrest, and reports that authorities are welding doors shut to keep civilians indoors. This restriction limited energy demand as people were no longer able to freely go to work or carry out their daily tasks.
Despite the IEA recording record coal usage and production, its report was unusually optimistic, predicting that coal demand would not increase significantly until at least 2027, predicting that China's coal use and production would not increase significantly. It was premature to evaluate the replacement of much of the energy with “renewable energy”.
“In 2024, China will continue to diversify its power sector, build more nuclear power plants, and accelerate significant expansion of solar and wind power,” the IEA asserted. “This should help limit growth in coal consumption until 2027…However, the analysis also highlights a number of important uncertainties.”
The report does not mention that China has approved hundreds of new coal-fired power plants in the past two years, but their expected shelf life could make China more interested in shutting down coal operations quickly. It shows that it does not have . Reuters reported China's coal production statistics. noticed This month, analysts expect production to increase in the last two months of the year after the state-owned assets regulator asked state-owned enterprises in November to increase production in anticipation of winter heating demand. ” he said.
China regularly pressures coal producers to increase production to meet winter demand, and boasts through state propaganda that coal production is the key to “energy independence.”
“Thanks to strengthening national energy security capabilities and green, low-carbon development, China's energy self-sufficiency rate will remain at around 80% in 2024,” the state-run report said. Global Times reported The article makes clear that “national energy security capability” includes a significant push to increase the nation's fossil fuel production.
“According to data from the National Energy Administration (NEA), domestic coal production is expected to reach approximately 4.76 billion tons in 2024.” times he pointed out. “Oil production is expected to recover for the sixth consecutive year, and natural gas production is expected to increase by more than 10 billion cubic meters for the eighth consecutive year.”
