Coal power grew in 2023 driven by China's expansion and a slowdown of US plant closures

**The world’s coal-fired power capacity grew 2% last year, its highest annual increase since 2016. This growth was driven by new builds in China and delays in decommissioning elsewhere. Nearly 70 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity were commissioned across the world last year, with China accounting for the majority. Coal-fired capacity outside China also grew for the first time since 2019. However, it is important to note that 25 countries have reduced their coal-fired power capacity since 2015, while 35 have increased it. To limit global temperature rises, projections suggest that global coal power capacity needs to be phased out by 2040. However, there is still a significant amount of coal capacity in development. China alone has 408 GW in development, which is enough to power the entire country of India.