Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Global coal divestiture and phase out - statistics & facts
With the threat of irreversible climate change looming over the world, calls to drastically reduce or entirely phase out coal consumption have been made widely. In particular, thermal coal, used by coal-fired power plants to produce energy, and which accounted for over one-third of global electricity production in 2024, is the main target of coal phase out plans. While a clean energy transition and decarbonization of the energy sector is the goal of many, a wide-reaching global coal phase-out is currently unlikely for a variety of reasons, including the affordability of new energy infrastructure, access to alternative energy sources, and policy differences.
