India Would Be Largest Growth Market For Coal By 2040: Report

Asia would be playing the key role in enhancing global energy demand by making it increase around a third by 2040, driven by improvement in living standards, led by India and China.

- Kingshuk Banerjee

Moreover, by that time renewable energy would play the pivotal role in global energy mix with 30 percent share, dethroning traditional fossil fuels like oil and coal, says the BP Energy Outlook 2019.

Coal: India emerging as largest growth market

The report pointed out that growth in coal consumption would slow sharply relative to the past, although this would mask contrasting patterns across countries and regions. Global coal consumption would broadly stagnate around current levels, in sharp contrast to the past 20 years or so when coal was the largest source of energy growth. The global market for coal would continue to be dominated by China, where coal consumption would fall as the economy would adjusts to a more balanced, sustainable pattern of growth.

The weakness in global coal consumption would be compounded by significant falls in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as countries switch to cleaner and lower-carbon fuels. In contrast, coal demand within India and other emerging Asian economies would increase. India would the largest growth market for coal, with its share of global coal consumption more than doubling to around a quarter in 2040. The majority of the increase in coal consumption in India and other developing Asian countries would be used to meet robust growth in power demand as these economies grow and prosperity increase.

However, “China’s transition to a more sustainable pattern of economic growth means that by the mid-2020s India surpasses China as the world’s largest growth market, accounting for over a quarter of the growth in global energy demand over the Outlook. Even so, China remains the largest market for energy: roughly double the size of India in 2040,” the report said.

Renewable emerging as main source of energy with 30% share