33% of global electricity is generated from Coal in 2025/2026

From July 2025 to June 2026, coal generated about 10,200 TWh globally, equivalent to almost a third of global electricity consumption. That was around 625 TWh more than in 2016, an increase of roughly 7%, yet coal’s share fell from about 38% to 33%—a decline of 5.5 percentage points. This contrast shows that electricity consumption has grown faster than coal generation over the decade. Coal is losing relative importance, but its rising absolute output means that a smaller share alone does not demonstrate progress in cutting coal-related emissions.

People's Republic of China dominates coal generation with nearly 5,800 TWh, more than half the global total, followed by India at about 1,400 TWh. These two countries also recorded the largest five-year increases in absolute output, adding around 720 TWh and 290 TWh respectively, while Indonesia added nearly 60 TWh. Dependence tells a different story: Mongolia gets about 92% of its electricity from coal and South Africa almost four-fifths, compared with roughly two-thirds in India. Republic of China (Taiwan) leads generation per person at around 4,200 kWh, closely followed by South Korea and Australia, all far above the global average of about 1,240 kWh. Among US states, Texas produces the most coal electricity at about 66 TWh, but coal supplies only 11% of its electricity. Indiana produces around 48 TWh with a coal share of roughly two-fifths, while West Virginia produces nearly 47 TWh and stands out for both its 86% coal share and generation exceeding 26,000 kWh per person.

Coal’s continued scale carries substantial climate and air pollution costs. Its IPCC lifecycle carbon intensity is about 820 gCO2eq/kWh, compared with 11 gCO2eq/kWh for wind, 12 gCO2eq/kWh for nuclear, 45 gCO2eq/kWh for solar, 24 gCO2eq/kWh for hydro and 38 gCO2eq/kWh for geothermal. Burning coal also releases harmful air pollutants, adding a public-health reason to replace it. Over the past five years, the United States achieved the largest reduction in coal generation at about 187 TWh, followed by Germany at 61 TWh, Japan at 42 TWh, Poland at 33 TWh and South Africa at 31 TWh. Expanding clean electricity from nuclear, solar and wind can help extend these reductions while supporting growing electricity demand: the goal should be to replace fossil generation, not constrain the electricity supply needed for electrification and growing AI use.