- The amount of capacity planned or under construction around the world reached 537 GW last year, with China accounting for 68 percent of the total
- U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged countries to stop building new coal-powered electric generating plants and phase out coal consumption completely by 2040
- China had 366 gigawatts of additional capacity, either being planned or under construction
SINGAPORE: Despite U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urging countries to stop building new coal-powered electric generating plants and phase out coal consumption completely by 2040, the amount of capacity planned or under construction around the world reached 537 GW last year, with China accounting for 68 percent of the total.
China had 366 gigawatts of additional capacity, either being planned or under construction, according to a report by a group of think tanks led by the U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor.
“The more new coal projects come online, the steeper the cuts and commitments need to be in the future,” said Global Energy Monitor’s Flora Champenois, lead author of the report.
Outside China, planned new capacity fell 20 percent last year, with no projects proposed either in the European Union or North America. India accounted for 60.5 GW of the proposed capacity, while Indonesia is planning to build another 26 GW.
Overall, worldwide coal-fired power capacity grew by 19.5 GW last year, with 45.5 GW of newly constructed capacity – mostly from China – offset by plant retirements totaling 26 GW.
