Coal power drops in China and India for first time in 52 years
2 days ago
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- #coal-power
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- Coal power generation fell in both China and India in 2025, the first simultaneous drop in half a century.
- China's coal power generation fell by 1.6% (90TWh), while India's fell by 3.0% (46TWh).
- The last time both countries saw a drop in coal power output was in 1973.
- Record clean-energy additions in both countries helped meet rising electricity demand without increasing coal use.
- China added over 300GW of solar and 100GW of wind power in 2025, setting new records.
- India added 35GW of solar, 6GW of wind, and 3.5GW of hydropower in the first 11 months of 2025.
- The decline in coal power marks a historic moment, potentially leading to a peak in global CO2 emissions.
- Challenges remain, including updating power grids to accommodate more renewable energy and managing new coal-power capacity.
- China and India's power sectors drove 93% of the rise in global CO2 emissions from 2015-2024.