China's total coal consumption to decline 39% in 2018-2050

Demand is expected to trend downwards by 2025.

According to Reuters, China is expected to see total coal consumption drop 18% from 2018 to 2035, and by 39% from 2018 to 2050, the CNPC Economics and Technology Research Institute, run by the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), reported on Thursday.

The demand from the world’s biggest coal consumer is expected to start falling in 2025 once consumption at utilities and other industrial sectors reaches its peak, easing pressure on Beijing to impose tougher curbs on fossil fuels.

Cutting coal consumption and replacing it with cleaner energy like natural gas and renewables has been a key part of China’s energy strategy, but it has continued to approve new mines and coal-fired power plants and support new projects overseas.

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Though the share of coal in the country’s total energy mix fell to 59% last year from 68.5% in 2012, overall consumption in 2018 rose 3% from a year earlier to 3.82 billion tonnes, official data showed.

Read the full report here.