---
title: "Coal use dropped in China and India in 2025. It rose in USA, hiking energy costs."
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/272996408.md"
description: "In 2025, coal use saw a historic decline in China and India, marking the first simultaneous drop in 52 years for both countries. Conversely, the US increased its coal power generation by 13%, contributing to a 2.4% rise in carbon emissions amid an affordability crisis. This uptick in coal use in the US, the largest historical polluter, has driven energy costs higher, contrasting with the declining trend in coal generation in the world's most populous nations."
datetime: "2026-01-19T18:41:47.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/272996408.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/272996408.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/272996408.md)
---

> Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/272996408.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/272996408.md)


# Coal use dropped in China and India in 2025. It rose in USA, hiking energy costs.

Trucks Haul Coal Navajo Mine by U.S. National Archives is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Coal experienced a historic decline in China and India, the world’s two most populous countries, in 2025, marking the first time in 52 years that both countries have seen a decline in coal generation at the same time.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest historical polluter, the US, ticked up its use of the worst method of power generation, which helped to drive energy costs higher amid an affordability crisis.

In 2025, US coal power generation went up by 13%, quite a big chunk for a power generation method that has otherwise been declining rapidly.

This worked to fuel a 2.4% increase in US carbon emissions, which have also otherwise been gradually falling for around two decades now. The US remains the largest all-time contributor to climate change, and it’s not even close.

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