Coal Consumption Hits Record High Despite Clean Energy Transition

As of October 2025, the world is struggling to curb its greenhouse gas emissions and meet its climate goals. A recent report has found that coal use reached a record high globally in 2024, despite efforts to transition to clean energy sources.

While the share of coal in electricity generation has dropped as renewable energy surges ahead, the overall increase in power demand has led to more coal being used. Renewable energy generation, particularly solar power, has grown "exponentially" in recent years, but the pace of this growth needs to double to make the emissions cuts required by the end of this decade.

Another major concern is the continued loss of the world's forests, which act as crucial carbon sinks. In 2024, over 8 million hectares of forest were permanently lost, a slower rate than the peak of nearly 11 million hectares in 2017, but still worse than the 7.8 million hectares lost in 2021. Governments have repeatedly pledged to protect forests, but they are still being cut down at a rate nine times faster than the world needs to halt deforestation.

Overall, the report paints a grim picture of the world's progress in addressing the climate crisis. Greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise, albeit at a lower rate than before, and countries are falling behind on the targets they have set for reducing these emissions. Urgent action is needed across all sectors to transition away from fossil fuels and protect natural carbon sinks if the world is to have a chance of limiting global heating to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as set out in the Paris climate agreement.