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Announced: Projects that have appeared in corporate or governmental planning documents but have not yet moved actively forward by applying for permits or seeking land, coal, or financing.

Pre-permit development: Projects that have actively moved forward in one or more of the following ways: applying for environmental permits, acquiring land, acquiring coal, acquiring water rights, acquiring transmission arrangements, or securing financing. In India the key criterion for moving a project from "Announced" to "Pre-permit is the existence of a "terms of reference" (TOR) letter by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. In China, "Pre-permit" means a feasibility study has been completed.

Permitted: Projects that have secured all environmental permits but have not broken ground. In India the key criterion for moving a project from "Pre-permit development" to "Permitted" is the approval of an "environmental clearance" (EC) by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. In China, "Permitted" means a plant has received a permit from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), allowing for construction, or the equivalent approval at the province level.

Construction: Projects where physical construction (i.e. concrete and steel), not just ground-clearing, a ground-breaking ceremony or early site preparation has begun.

Definition of statuses assigned to coal plants

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Shelved: Projects where sufficient evidence is found to indicate that a project is no longer moving forward, but not enough to declare it definitely Cancelled. Projects where construction has been put on hold are also considered "Shelved." A project that shows no activity over a period of 2 years is categorized as "Shelved" unless there is evidence to the contrary. A commonly used description for projects shelved for this reason is: "As of [current month and year], the project has not progressed in more than two years, and appears to be shelved.”

Cancelled: In some cases a sponsor announces that it has cancelled a project. More often a project fails to advance and then quietly disappears from company documents. A project that was previously in an active category is moved to "Cancelled" if it disappears from company documents, even if no announcement is made. In addition, a plant that shows no activity over a period of 4 years is categorized as "Cancelled," unless there is evidence to the contrary. Projects that are switched to natural gas are considered "Cancelled" as coal plants. A commonly used description for projects shelved for this reason is: "As of [current month and year], the project has not progressed in more than four years, and appears to be cancelled."

Definition of statuses assigned to coal plants

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Operating: Units that have been formally commissioned or that have entered commercial operation.

Mothballed: Units that have been deactivated or put into an inactive state but are not retired.

Retired: Units that have been permanently decommissioned or converted to another fuel.

Status of coal mines, pipelines, steel plants, and terminals

Energy projects other than coal-fired power plants are described differently in their pre-construction phase. Instead of the "Announced," "Pre-permit development," and "Permitted" statuses, all of these types of projects that have not yet reached "Construction" are categorized as "Proposed."

Definition of statuses assigned to coal plants

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Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, 47 of 82 countries with coal power have reduced or maintained operating capacity flat.

In 2023, the global operating coal capacity reached a record high of 2,130GW, up by 2% from the previous year.

Global (Capacity) in the Electricity Sector

More coal capacity added than retired

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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Global - Projects in the Pipeline

(In Development: Under Construction, Permitted, Pre-Permit,

and Announced for development in the succeeding years)

The total pre-construction capacity is now at the lowest level 7.1 GW. OECD countries have seen no new coal plant construction starts since 2019.

China and India collectively account for 82% of the total pre-construction capacity worldwide (announced, pre-permit, and permitted).

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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Coal power plant retirements were at the lowest level since 2011.

More coal capacity added than retired: A total of 69.5GW of coal power came online in 2023, while only 21.1GW was retired, resulting in a net annual increase of 48.4 GW for the year. This is the highest net increase in operating coal capacity since 2016.

Global - Existing Capacity in GW

(Operating, Mothballed, Retired)

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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Asia* (Capacity)

The majority of the increase in coal capacity comes from China.

Some 47.4GW of coal power capacity – accounting for two-thirds of the global rise in operating coal power capacity – came online in China in 2023.

Notable increases were also recorded in Indonesia (5.9GW), India (5.5GW), Vietnam (2.6GW), Japan (2.5GW), Bangladesh (1.9GW), Pakistan (1.7GW) and South Korea (1GW).

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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70% of coal power under consideration is in China while 25% come from 10 countries: India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, Vietnam, Turkiye, Kazakhstan. Within these 10 countries, India accounts for nearly half of the planned capacity.

Asia Pipeline

(In Development: Under Construction, Permitted, Pre-Permit,

and Announced for development in the succeeding years)

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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Asia Existing Capacity

(Operating, Mothballed, Retired)

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

Coal in the Electricity Mix

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024

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Global

By percentage

Source: EMBER

Coal retirement is proving to be difficult in Asia. India, for example, has asked utilities not to retire coal plants early due to rising electricity demand. India has not set a timeline for phasing down coal use.

In addition, there are no projections, targets and timelines for coal phase out in many Asian countries compared to countries’ plans for RE build up.

Source: Global Coal Plant Tracker 2024