India drives 11% jump in planned coal mining capacity

India drove a global surge in proposed coal mining capacity in 2025, according to Global Energy Monitor, an NGO. New mine proposals would add 2.5 billion tonnes of annual production capacity, an 11% increase from 2024, even as coal demand plateaus.

Odisha and Jharkhand drove the increase, doubling their proposals in line with India’s coal ministry plan. India aims to raise coal output by nearly 100 million tonnes to 1.15 billion tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year to meet rising electricity demand from economic growth and more severe heatwaves linked to the climate crisis.

Global Energy Monitor said the expansion conflicts with the International Energy Agency’s forecast of slowing global coal demand by the end of the decade. New coal mine startups fell 40% in 2025 to about 113 million tonnes of annual capacity, the lowest in a decade, driven by declines of 44% in China and 96% in Australia.

A separate report from energy thinktank Ember found wind and solar surpassed coal in global electricity generation for the first time in 2025, with China and India leading renewable growth. Tiffany Means, a senior researcher at Global Energy Monitor and co-author of the report, said the economic case for coal weakens as cheap clean energy displaces it, urging governments to cancel pipeline projects before construction.