NEW DELHI: India became the only country besides China to burn more than a billion tonne (BT) of coal in 2022 as demand grew at 8% on the back of robust economic growth and looks set to maintain the trend this year, according to the International Energy Agency.
The agency’s latest Coal Market Update showed demand rising by about 5.5% in the first half of 2023 on continued strong economic growth and reliance on coal. “With growth in the power sector slowing down a bit in the second half, we expect a total increase of 5% for the year, totalling 1.2 BT,” the report said, pegging the growth in 2022 at 1.1 billion tonne.
