Coal

Germany intends to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2030, and by 2038 at the latest. Globally, coal was the second most important energy source after crude oil, accounting for around 27% of primary energy consumption in 2022. Coal accounted for 36% of global electricity generation in 2022.

Hard coal production, particularly in Europe and North America, has been decreasing almost continuously for years. However, global hard coal production is on the rise and reached a new all-time high of an estimated 7,800 Mt in 2023 (plus 3% on 2022).

The seven largest hard coal producing countries in 2022 Source: BGR

Among the fossil fuels, coal is both the fossil fuel with the highest specific CO₂ emissions and the energy resource with the largest global reserves and resources.