Coal-to-gas switching happens but is not very common (top left in the chart). We have lots of cases where coal and gas both fell (Europe mostly, bottom left); where coal grew at the expense of gas (e.g. SE Asia); and where gas grew but against other fuels (e.g. Middle East).
Coal-to-gas switching is often presented as the raison d’ être of the gas industry – and if we can limit venting and leakage, a switch to gas reduces emissions (and improves local air quality).
But while coal-to-gas switching happens, it’s not a super widespread phenomenon.
(Note: There are different ways to measure this. For some countries, changing the time period yields different results. And market shares tell only part of the story. Yet the image above is robust to lots of different specifications. I just chose one visual for simplicity.)
Source: Nikos TSAFOS (LinkedIn)
