Global Pipeline of Planned Coal Projects Outnumbers Cancellations Three to One

The global pipeline of planned coal developments is expanding rapidly, with 257 new projects announced over the past year compared to just 76 cancellations. The 2026 update of the Global Coal Exit List, released Tuesday by the German environmental group Urgewald, documents a project pipeline that has grown to 1,510 active mining, power, and infrastructure ventures.[1][2]

This three-to-one ratio of new announcements to shelved plans highlights a resilient thermal coal sector that continues to secure capital and regulatory approval. The database, which tracks companies operating across the entire coal value chain, indicates that more than 40 percent of the listed firms are currently developing new assets.[1][2]

"For every shelved project, three new projects were announced," said Pacôme David-Mauduit, a senior researcher at Urgewald. He noted that rather than shrinking under international climate pressure, the global inventory of coal assets under development has steadily expanded.[1][2]

The data serves as a primary screening tool for the financial sector. Currently, 717 financial institutions use the Global Coal Exit List to monitor corporate expansion and restrict lending or underwriting to the thermal coal industry.[2][4]

The 2026 list provides detailed operational data for approximately 2,700 companies, comprising over 1,500 parent companies and their subsidiaries. It covers the entire thermal coal value chain, from initial exploration and mining to power production and coal gasification.[4]

Tracking the power pipeline

The expansion is heavily concentrated in power generation, where 335 developers are planning 606 new coal-fired power projects. Combined, these planned facilities represent over 740 gigawatts of new capacity, an amount roughly four times the size of the entire existing United States coal plant fleet.[1][2]

Chinese state-owned and private entities dominate this buildout. The China Energy Investment Group is the world's largest single developer, aiming to construct 44 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity on its own to support domestic industrial demand.[2]

Overall, Chinese companies are responsible for 70 percent of the global coal plant pipeline. Indian developers follow, accounting for 18 percent of the planned capacity, leaving the remaining 12 percent distributed across 33 other nations.[2]

On the extraction side, the database identifies 357 companies that are currently opening or expanding thermal coal mines. These mining operations span 39 countries and represent a planned capacity of at least 3,271 million tonnes per year.[1]

If fully realized, that extraction volume would equal 41 percent of current global thermal coal production. The scale of these mining projects underscores the long-term supply contracts that developers expect to fulfill over the coming decades.[1]

Host nations face scrutiny

The report specifically highlights the domestic energy policies of Australia and Türkiye, the two nations preparing to co-host the COP31 climate summit. Both countries maintain substantial ties to the thermal coal industry despite their international diplomatic roles.[1][2]

Australia currently holds the world's third-largest pipeline of thermal coal mining projects. Developers have planned 49 new mines or significant extensions across the country, including 20 entirely greenfield operations designed to supply international export markets.[1][3]

"The real proof of Australia's climate leadership is not in its speeches at Cop31, but in its actions at home," said Heffa Schücking, director of Urgewald. She emphasized that Australia remains one of the few OECD countries without a formal coal phase-out date.[1]

Türkiye, meanwhile, relies on coal for 34 percent of its total electricity generation, based on 2025 data. While wind and solar power have made gains, they accounted for just 22 percent of the country's power mix, leaving coal as the dominant baseload source.[2][3]

The nation also serves as a critical market for Russian coal exports. By importing the fuel for its power plants, Türkiye secures a steady revenue stream for a Russian industry that faces heavy international sanctions elsewhere.[3]

Financial sector enforcement

The primary function of the Global Coal Exit List is to translate these project announcements into actionable financial data. Organizations like Reclaim Finance utilize the database to track the share and bond holdings of over 8,400 institutional investors, identifying which portfolios remain exposed to fossil fuel expansion.[4][5]

By mapping the exact subsidiaries and parent companies driving the 1,510 active projects, the database prevents developers from obscuring their coal investments within diversified corporate structures. This visibility forces banks and asset managers to apply their exclusion policies accurately.[4][5]

The data is increasingly integrated directly into major financial indices. When a company announces a new coal plant or mine extension, it risks automatic removal from passive investment funds that track these specialized indices, cutting off a significant source of institutional capital.[4][5]

Despite these financial guardrails, the broader industry shows little internal momentum toward decarbonization. The Urgewald analysis found that 95 percent of the coal industry still lacks a formal, credible plan to phase out coal-fired power generation.[3]

To align with international climate targets, energy analysts state that coal power plants in developed nations must be retired by 2030, with the rest of the world following by 2040. The current pipeline of 606 new power projects directly contradicts those retirement schedules.[1][3]

As global electricity demand continues to rise, particularly in emerging markets, the ratio of new projects to cancellations suggests that capital is still finding its way to baseload fossil fuel infrastructure. The data indicates that regulatory pressures have not yet outpaced the market demand for new coal assets.[1][3]