India's coal push drives global surge in proposed mine projects

According to a Global Energy Monitor study, the number of coal mining projects put forward in 2025 was sufficient to raise global prospective supply by 2.5 bn tonnes, or about 11% compared with the prior year. The increase was driven almost exclusively by Indian states Jharkhand and Odisha, aligning with the ministry of coal's target to lift national output to roughly 1.15 bn tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year to meet rising electricity needs and more intense heatwaves.

Despite this, the count of new coal mines actually commencing operations continued to decline, with only enough capacity for about 113 m tonnes to start last year—down 40% from 2024 and the lowest in a decade. China and Australia contributed most to the drop, with their new mine openings falling 44% and 96% respectively. The report highlighted a contrast between India's expanding pipeline and the International Energy Agency's forecast of falling global coal demand by decade's end, as wind and solar surpassed coal in the global electricity mix for the first time, driven largely by China and India. Global Energy Monitor senior researcher Tiffany Means warned that expanding coal mining becomes less economically viable as cheap clean energy spreads, urging governments to cancel projects still in development.