Young women scavenge coal at a dump site of an open-pit mine in the Jharia coalfield. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
A new analysis of future energy trends by Coal India Limited, the state-controlled company that produces the bulk of the developing nation’s coal, finds that the falling cost of renewables, improvements in energy efficiency, and the global push to address climate change could significantly decrease demand for coal in India in the coming decades, according to reporting by Climate Home.
“Even in the case of coal industry in India, trends portent that in the long run the demand is likely to decrease substantially,” the report, titled Coal Vision 2030, states. “With the increasing threat of climate change impacting humanity (irrespective of the U.S. position) and the global funding focus on renewables, it is a matter of time when alternate clean energy would displace coal.”
The report also suggests that the country not open any new coal mines, arguing that the mines already in production or auctioned will be sufficient to meet future demand.
