According to the International Energy Agency, global coal consumption hit an all-time high in 2022, surpassing eight billion tonnes and eclipsing the previous record set in 2013.
Besides, while many financial institutions have committed to restricting financing for thermal coal (used in power plants) projects and companies and have planned a phase-out by 2030/2040:
Many financial institutions continue to support the thermal coal sector:
Investments from asset managers, pension funds and other types of investors in the coal sector remain substantial, amounting to US$1.03 trillion as of January 2023 (Investing In Climate Chaos, Urgewald).
Financing for the coal sector also remains significant. In 2022 alone, US$42.76 billion were allocated to the top 30 coal power companies and the top 30 coal mining companies by the world’s 60 largest banks (Banking On Climate Chaos, April 2023)
Only a handful of players are restricting financing for metallurgical coal used by the steel industry.