Historic moment as coal power falls simultaneously in China and India

Coal power generation fell in both India and China last year as a result of a massive surge in renewable energy deployment, marking what one leading analyst described as a historic moment in the global transition to clean energy.

It is the first time since 1973 that coal use fell in both nations at once, and it occurred as energy demand in both countries increased, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. This suggests that renewables are displacing coal, the world’s dirtiest energy source, in the first and third most polluting nations on Earth.

A molten salt tower solar thermal power station in Jiuquan, China.Credit: Getty Images

Together, the power sectors of China and India drove 93 per cent of the rise in global carbon dioxide emissions from 2015-2024, Myllyvirta writes in Carbon Brief, a UK-based website specialising in climate and energy.

His analysis shows power generation from coal fell by 1.6 per cent in China and by 3 per cent in India in 2025, even as China continued building new coal power plants. Many of the plants are used for peaking during periods of high demand, so while the China’s sector’s coal power capacity has been expanding, its coal use has been falling.

According to Myllyvirta, India increased its renewable energy capacity by 44 per cent year-on-year during the first 11 months of last year. This huge leap would need to accelerate even further for coal power to go into structural decline in India and allow the government to meet green energy targets.

South Korea announced at climate talks in Brazil in November that it would retire most of its coal-fired power plants by 2040, and at least halve its carbon emissions by 2035. Forty of its coal plants have confirmed closure dates.

The declines come as coal use surges in the United States, with the sector benefiting from the Trump administration’s efforts to boost the industry and curtail renewables in that country.

Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.

Most Viewed in Environment

Loading