Chinese coal consumption reached over 4 billion tons in 2023. What else can we see from this summary charting the past 10 years of thermal coal usage in China?
After retracting, for a few years, Chinese coal consumption increased by almost 1 Bn tons in comparison to 2016 – 8 years ago
Power usage is the key driver, but heat supply also shows a large relative increase
As a reminder, global coal use (incl. coking coal) amounted to 8.6 Bn tons in 2023 – an all time high
Is it realistic to expect that Chinese coal consumption plateaus within a few years (as hoped by many) considering the surge in EVs and further electrification as the nation continues to catch up with the west and the middle class keeps growing?
Has anyone considered that the EV pushed by China will replace Chinese oil imports with Chinese domestic coal? Thus, making China stronger… in addition to “gaining strength” in the automotive industry that Germany, Japan, and the US previously dominated?
Do European countries who are turning off coal really still believe their actions, resulting in increased cost of power and reduced energy reliability, will make a positive difference to the world?
As always, I am happy to hear your comments, especially if critical to what I say.
Source: Lars Schernikau (Perret Associates for graph)
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