Key developments of 2025
- In 2025, global coal power capacity continued to grow even as coal-fired generation declined. Global coal capacity increased by 3.5%, while coal generation fell by 0.6%, reinforcing a widening disconnect between coal capacity additions and how much coal was actually used.
- Coal generation fell most sharply in China and India even as both countries recorded high commissioning. In China, coal capacity expanded by 6% while generation declined 1.2%; in India, capacity grew by 3.8% while generation fell 2.9%. In both countries, wind and solar met most or all incremental demand, contributing to the divergence between rising capacity and falling output.
- In China, new and reactivated coal power projects in 2025 surged to a record high of 161.7 GW. In all, China has over 500 GW of coal-fired capacity in development. If built, the projects would commit China to years of coal expansion well into its 15th Five–Year Plan period (2026–2030), during which the government has pledged to reduce coal consumption.
- India recorded 27.9 GW of new and reactivated coal plant proposals in 2025. In all, India has 107.3 GW of capacity in pre-construction planning and another 23.5 GW under construction. The Indian government has set a target to add 100 GW of new coal capacity over the next seven years, even as record additions of solar and wind pushed non-fossil capacity to more than half of total installed power capacity in 2025.
- Globally, nearly 70% of coal-fired units scheduled to retire in 2025 did not do so, including 69% of scheduled retirements in the EU and 59% in the U.S. In the EU, most missed retirements reflect postponements that began during the 2022–23 energy crisis, even as formal coal phaseout commitments remain in place. In the U.S., retirement delays were more directly tied to government intervention that kept aging coal plants online through explicit orders.
- Coal construction outside China and India hit a record low, at just 5% of global construction capacity in 2025. Global coal expansion is increasingly driven by a small set of countries rather than broad-based global demand.
- Indonesia’s coal fleet grew by 7% in 2025, with a quarter of the increase tied to captive coal for nickel and aluminum processing. The country also ranked third globally for total proposed coal capacity (11 GW) behind China and India, including both new on-grid plans and the ongoing persistence of off-grid captive proposals.
- In Türkiye, just one active coal plant proposal remains as the country prepares to host the upcoming COP31 climate conference, down from over 70 proposed coal plants in 2015.
- In South Asia outside of India, coal generation is largely import-dependent. While Pakistan has rapidly deployed distributed solar that stabilizes against shifting fossil fuel markets, Bangladesh has faced technical and fuel supply challenges with its fossil power and has yet to implement significant renewable capacity.
- In Southeast Asia outside of Indonesia, new coal capacity commissioning declined for the third year in a row, even as emerging gas supply disruptions in 2026 have prompted some countries to lean more heavily on existing coal capacity.
- In Africa, coal proposals were again concentrated in Zimbabwe and Zambia, which together accounted for two-thirds of new coal development in the region.
In addition to Global Energy Monitor, the report’s co-authors are the The Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN), ARAYARA International Institute,Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), CEE Bankwatch Network, Beyond Fossil Fuels, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Chile Sustentable, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA), E3G, The Institute of Lawyers for the Protection of the Environment (INSAPROMA), Kiko Network, POLEN Transiciones Justas, Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED), Razom We Stand, Reclaim Finance, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), Trend Asia, and Waterkeepers Bangladesh (WKB).
