Geri
The new coal capacity commissioned globally in 2024 hit its lowest level in 20 years. Coal capacity decreased in countries other than India and China, and this downward trend has been continuing for 10 years.
Global Energy Monitor, an international non-governmental organisation, has published the 10th ‘Rise and Fall’ report as part of the Global Coal Power Plant Tracker Project. The report covers the status of coal-fired power plants worldwide and plans in the related field. According to the report, 44 gigawatts of coal power plant capacity was commissioned last year. This is considered an indicator of declining coal utilisation in the world. As of last year, 25.2 gigawatts of thermal power plants were closed against 44 gigawatts of new coal capacity commissioned. Thus, global coal capacity increased by 18.8 gigawatts in 2024, less than 1 per cent on an annual basis. The 44 gigawatts of new coal capacity commissioned last year was about 30 gigawatts below the annual average of 72 gigawatts commissioned over the 2004-2024 period. The 44 gigawatts of new coal capacity commissioned last year was about 30 gigawatts below the average of 72 gigawatts of capacity commissioned annually over the 2004-2024 period. The limited increase in total coal capacity last year was driven by a four-fold increase in decommissioned coal plant capacity in the European Union. In 2023, 2.7 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants were decommissioned in the European Union, and this rose to 11 gigawatts in 2024. The United Kingdom closed its last coal-fired power plant, while Germany's decommissioned capacity reached 6.7 gigawatts. In the US, coal plant retirements totalled 4.7 gigawatts, the lowest level since 2015. By 2035, half of the existing coal capacity in the US is expected to be shut down. However, some energy companies are also considering postponing these plans. Coal capacity under development outside China and India fell from 445 gigawatts in 2015 to 80 gigawatts in 2024. In 2024, China started the construction of new coal plants, making the contract for coal consumption to peak and decline in 2025 risky if it does not control the new plants it will build. While the number of new coal projects in Southeast Asia is steadily declining, India proposed a large number of new coal plants last year. Thus, while 12 countries proposed new coal power plants in 2023, this figure was recorded as 8 countries last year. Proposals for new coal power plants in 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries fell from 142 to 5 in 2015. According to the ‘Rise and Fall’ report prepared within the scope of Global Energy Monitor's Global Coal Power Plant Tracker Project, Türkiye has cancelled over 92 gigawatts of coal power plant projects since 2010. Elif Cansu İlhan, European Climate Action Network Türkiye Climate and Energy Policy Officer, stated that Türkiye has been following the trends in the world by accelerating renewable energy installations while cancelling almost all coal power plant projects since 2015 and said, ‘As we see in the report, coal is going out of circulation all over the world. If the additional units of Afşin Elbistan A Power Plant, the last remaining thermal power plant project in Türkiye, are cancelled and a fair coal phase-out plan is made, the economy of coal regions and Türkiye can be strengthened while providing decent, climate-compatible job opportunities for citizens.’
Duygu Kutluay, Beyond Fossil Fuels Campaigner, stated that for a more prosperous future in Türkiye, where the entire electricity need is met from renewable energy sources, it is necessary to phase out fossil fuels, especially coal.
