Why Coal Staged a Comeback Despite Climate Worries

There’s little doubt that avoiding the worst climate change scenarios requires phasing out power plants that burn coal, the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s proving much easier said than done. Twice in the past decade, global consumption of coal turned downward, only to rebound, and it reached an all-time high in 2022. The problem, in short: When there are worries about keeping the lights on, noble intentions to contain global warming are set aside.

Coal generated more than 36% of the world’s electricity in 2022, making it by far the biggest source, according to Ember, a climate think tank. (Second was natural gas, at 22%, followed by hydroelectric at 15% and nuclear at 9%.) That reflects some progress. From 2006 through 2014, coal was the source of 40% or more of global electricity generation, according to the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based organization of developed nations that aims to assure a stable worldwide market. After declining to a 35% share in 2019, however, coal’s role in electricity production went back up.