IEA: Accelerating a fair transition in the coal industry

The International Energy Agency published “Accelerating a Just Transition for Coal”. In 2022, the IEA published its special report “Coal in the Net Zero Transition”. Since then, the policy and technology landscape has evolved. At the end of 2023, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) called for a “phased reduction in the use of fossil fuels in the energy system”, including a specific call for Parties to start “accelerating efforts to phase out unabated coal power”. This report updates the 2022 report with new data and scenarios from the IEA.

Net zero requires a rapid transition away from unabated coal-fired power generation

Achieving the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector by 2050, as adopted at COP28, depends crucially on a rapid shift away from reducing the use of coal for electricity generation.

Global coal demand continues to grow in 2023 despite rapid growth in renewable energy generation.

A growing number of countries have made commitments to net-zero emissions, which amounts to completely phasing out the use of coal and other fossil fuels.

Transition from coal depends on rapid expansion of low-emission energy sources

Only if alternative energy sources develop rapidly enough to meet the growing demand for electricity can it be possible to reduce dependence on the ever-increasing coal-fired power generation.

Shifting coal-fired power plants from baseload generation to more flexible operation will reduce coal use while supporting the integration of alternative generation sources.

New approaches needed to accelerate financing of transition away from coal

Favorable economics for renewables are not, by themselves, sufficient to achieve a rapid transition away from coal power.

Policies to boost clean energy financing must go hand in hand with measures to stop financing new coal power and to finance the early retirement of some coal assets.

The transition away from coal is affordable

Maintaining affordable electricity prices throughout the transition is critical.

Policies for transitioning away from coal power must be people-centred and fair.

Accelerating the transition away from coal will impact the workers and communities that rely on it.

The nation’s commitment to reducing emissions and decarbonising electricity generation, if fully implemented, will inevitably lead to job losses in the coal industry, particularly in mining.