Russia’s Coal Collapse signals the end of the fossil era. From bankrupt mines to battery booms, the global energy transition is accelerating but facing political resistance.
This article is specifically about russia’s coal industry, which is currently operating at a loss. It seems that it is only operating to create at least some foreign income, but a significant number of companies went bankrupt.
Globally, the usage of coal is expected to peak in the next few years. Some countries still rely quite a lot on coal, far more than what we in europe can imagine.
I guess the details are more complex. And I have seen the Ember report that showed that now USA out of fuck knows what reason increases coal even at the cost of gas.
In 2024 the International Energy Agency said: “After having grown by more than 1.2 billion tonnes since 2020, global coal demand is set to plateau in the next three years, reaching around 8.87 billion tonnes by 2027.
We probably can determine the peak only in hindsight, but based on China’s expansion of renewable energy alone, the age of needing 8 billion tonnes and more is probably over somewhere soon.
The article is specifically about Russia’s coal industry […]
No, it is not only about Russian coal. If you read on, a few paragraphs later you find:
A Parallel Story: U.S. Coal Auctions Without Buyers
Russia’s implosion is mirrored — though for different reasons — in the United States, where the fossil sector is facing structural decline not from sanctions, but from market irrelevance.
In October 2025, a federal coal lease auction in Montana attracted just one bid: $186,000 for 167 million tons of coal — roughly $0.001 per ton, a 99.9 percent collapse in value versus a similar 2012 sale at $1.10 per ton. The Department of the Interior then postponed additional auctions in Wyoming and Utah, citing “market conditions.” Analysts read the signal plainly: the market has priced coal out of future portfolios.
This article is specifically about russia’s coal industry, which is currently operating at a loss. It seems that it is only operating to create at least some foreign income, but a significant number of companies went bankrupt.
Globally, the usage of coal is expected to peak in the next few years. Some countries still rely quite a lot on coal, far more than what we in europe can imagine.
The linked Wiki page starts:
I guess the details are more complex. And I have seen the Ember report that showed that now USA out of fuck knows what reason increases coal even at the cost of gas.
I was referring to this sentence:
We probably can determine the peak only in hindsight, but based on China’s expansion of renewable energy alone, the age of needing 8 billion tonnes and more is probably over somewhere soon.
No, it is not only about Russian coal. If you read on, a few paragraphs later you find: