Coal expected to remain significant global power source until at least 2050, but demand shifting from U.S. to Asia

"Coal may be losing market share as a major energy source in some parts of the world, but the death knell for the industry hasn’t sounded yet, and might not for decades," Myra Saefong reports for MarketWatch. 

But coal demand will likely continue shifting from the U.S. to Asia. In the United States, demand for thermal coal, which is used by power plants, is about half of what it was a decade ago, and may fall "very dramatically" in the next decade, according to IHS Markit analyst James Stevenson. "In the Asia-Pacific region, however, coal demand had been growing until very recently, and has now 'plateaued.' IHS Markit expects 'a little less coal will be consumed' with each passing year," Saefong reports.

"Coal-fired power generation from 2021 to 2024 is forecast to increase by 4.1% in China, 11% in India, and 12% in Southeast Asia, but is likely to tumble by 21% in the U.S. and 30% in the European Union, according to the International Energy Agency’s Coal 2021 report issued in December," Saefong reports.