More than 25 GW of coal-fired power generation was phased out globally in 2017

In 2017, the development of coal-fired power plants fell sharply for the second consecutive year, with new construction business falling 73% between 2015 and 2017, mainly due to China's austerity policies and India's lack of private financing
.

In their fourth annual survey of coal plant pipelines worldwide, Greenpeace Sierra Club and Coal Swarm found that significant declines in development and construction in China and India have led to a 28 percent year-on-year decline in the number of new coal plants, or a 41 percent
decline in the past two years compared to 2015.
At the same time, the number of coal plants under construction fell 29% year-on-year and 73%
in the past two years.
And the number of coal plants in the permitting and planning stages is down 22% year-on-year and 59%
in the past two years.
This is not an anomaly, but a larger trend that raises a serious warning
to the coal industry, the report said.

The decline was mainly due to Chinese government restrictions on coal use and declining fiscal and policy support from India, while the number of coal plant construction in other parts of the world also declined
.
Overall, more than 25 GW of coal power was phased out globally in 2017, with a total of 97 GW of coal-fired power generation phased out in the past three years, led by the US with 45 GW, China with 16 GW and the UK with 8 GW
.

Based on the long-term trend of two decades of coal retirement, the report predicts that global coal-fired power plants will begin to decline
by 2022.

"From a climate and health perspective, the trend of decreasing coal power plants is encouraging, but not fast enough," said
Ted Nace, director of CoalSwarm.
"Fortunately, mass production is cutting solar and wind costs much faster than expected, and financial markets and power planners around the world are watching
.
"

Neha Mathew-Shah, representative of the Sierra Club International Climate and Energy Campaign, added: "It is not surprising
that global coal use is decreasing.
This trend has been accelerating over the past few years, and it's only a matter of time before coal becomes a thing of the past as the cost advantages of clean energy solutions such as wind and solar outweigh the cost of
fossil fuels.
”

But the report's authors are quick to note that "the current pace of progress must accelerate" because of the need to cancel coal power projects already under development and accelerate the retirement of aging coal plants
in Europe and the United States.

Lauri Myllyvirta, senior global campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "The slowdown in coal-fired power plant construction and the accelerated phase-out are good news for public health
.
Pollution from coal plants causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths
every year.
Despite the slowdown in construction, overcapacity continues to worsen, especially in China, India and Indonesia
.
”