By Jo Nova

Humans used more coal in 2025 than at any point in human history.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) solemnly announced that global coal demand reached another all time record high in 2025. “However, it is expected to decline by 2030 amid competition from other energy sources” they say, just like they say every year when coal hits a new record.

The IEA are a fully paid up part of The Blob– their funding comes from taxpayers in rich nations — so their role is to manage the narrative on energy to keep that funding flowing. Every year that coal hits a record high, the IEA also projects that coal use will plateau or fall. Back in 2019, they said “Over the next five years, global coal demand is forecast to remain stable.” Which it didn’t. In 2020 they said “Coal’s partial recovery is set to fade after 2021”. And it didn’t do that either. In 2022 they said “Global coal demand is set to plateau through 2025”. Yet again, demand for coal keeps rising.

Every year they do some version of the plateau graph (below) which includes their wish-list forecast of coal trending flat or down.

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