The number of coal-fired power plants continued to grow on a global basis in 2025 but, despite the increase, the amount of energy generation from fossil fuels fell.
A new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found that while global coal capacity increased by 3.5% in total 2025, coal-fired generation fell by 0.6%. This divergence was most pronounced in China and India, where record-breaking wind and solar additions met almost all new demand, displacing coal even as plant commissioning reached decade-highs.
Coal produces significantly more CO2 per unit of energy than other fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, because it contains a higher carbon content. Climate experts have said that countries need to move away from coal or risk failing to reduce carbon emissions enough to tackle climate change.
Despite this, many countries are still building new plants, China’s state planner and energy regulator has said that new coal-fired power will be necessary during the transition away from...