Image Source: Pexels

From EIA:

First, up to 2020:

Source: EIA, accessed 11/26/2023.

Then, 2021-2023, from the EIA Coal Update (July 2023):

Source: EIA (July 2023).

From the July report.

"…overall global coal demand is expected to remain flat at around 8 388 Mt (+0.4%) in 2023. Whether coal demand in 2023 grows or declines, will depend on weather conditions and on the economies of large coal consuming nations.

"After three very particular years, with the Covid-19-induced shock in 2020, the strong post-pandemic recovery in 2021, and the first truly global energy crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, markets returned to more recognisable patterns in 2023..."

So, coal demand is up relative to 2020 (a year of the pandemic), but flat going into 2023, at least according to the forecast. What the first figure demonstrates is that overall coal consumption has been trending down. Moreover, demand is forecast to be flat in 2024.

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