With China’s surge in coal power development and low retirement rates in the rest of the world, global operating coal capacity grew in 2023, potentially affecting climate change targets.

According to Global Energy Monitor’s (GEM’s) annual survey of global coal-fired power units, capacity grew by 2% in 2023 to 2,130GW. This is the highest net increase since 2016 – despite the retirement of 21.1GW of coal capacity last year.

Of the 69.5GW of coal-fired power capacity that came online in 2023, China accounted for two-thirds (47.4GW). The surge in capacity also originated in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece and Zimbabwe.

According to GEM, this growth in capacity could be tempered if China takes immediate action to ensure it meets its target of shutting down 30GW of coal capacity by 2025.

“The recent surge in coal power development in China starkly contrasts with the global trend, putting China’s 2025 climate targets at risk,” said Qi Qin, China analyst...