Global Coal Consumption Hits Record Even as Coal Power Declines

Global coal consumption reached another record in 2025, seemingly contradicting years of discussion about phasing out the world’s most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. But the headline number does not tell the whole story.

The latest Statistical Review of World Energy shows that global coal consumption rose to 166. 0 exajoules last year. That represented an increase of 0. 7% from 2024. At the same time, global electricity generation from coal declined. Coal-fired power production fell 0. 3% to 10,511 terawatt-hours.