After this year’s unprecedented fall in coal demand, we will see a modest recovery in 2021. Global coal demand is up 2.6 percent, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This is due to economic growth, which is widely expected for 2021.
Global demand for coal has fallen by five percent this year. By seven percent between 2018 and 2020, the IEA said. This means that some downward trend in demand for coal began to be promoted even before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. By then, however, the International Energy Agency expected coal demand to revive this year.
According to the IEA, the decline already seen in 2018 is mainly due to the fact that countries are looking for cleaner energy sources and are no longer relying on coal in this regard. Although demand for coal is likely to grow next year, it will still remain below 2019 levels. By 2025, it is expected to fall by about 7.4 billion tonnes per year in the United States and Europe alone. At that time, renewables also outstage coal in their importance and should become the dominant source of electricity generation in the US and Europe. Even more significant than natural gas.
