Coal

Energy Mix

28% of world 🌎 (#2 resource)
8% of U.S. 🇺🇸 (#3 resource)

Electricity Generation

34% of world 🌎 (#1 resource)
15% of U.S. 🇺🇸 (#4 resource)

Global Coal Use

Electricity: 75%
Industry (primarily heat): 18%
Residential (heat): 2%
Agriculture & Fishing: 1%
Other: 4%

Change in Global Consumption

Increase:
⬆5%
(2019-2024)

41% of world 🌎
18% of U.S. 🇺🇸
energy GHG emissions are from coal
(includes methane leakage)

Energy use is responsible for ~75% of global GHG emissions.

Coal seams contain methane, which is released when the coal is mined. Coal Mine Methane (CMM) represented more than 11% of total methane emissions from human activity in 2024.

(Visit our Natural Gas page for more information on methane leakage.)

Coal Use is a Major Contributor to Outdoor Air Pollution

Coal combustion emits numerous hazardous air pollutants that impact human health and the environment including:

• Particulate matter contributes to human health impacts like asthma and respiratory illness. Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) emissions pose the greatest risk. And PM2.5 from coal may be twice as deadly as PM2.5 from other sources, according to a recent study by Harvard’s School of Public Health and others.
• Nitrous oxides (NOx) contribute to asthma, respiratory tract damage, and lung disease, and can lead to ozone which is harmful to human health.
• Sulfur oxides (SOx) can harm the human respiratory system and can also cause acid rain.
• Hydrochloric acid (HCl) can cause acid rain.
• Heavy metal toxicity (e.g., from mercury and lead) can cause birth defects and damage the functioning of the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, and blood composition. Simultaneous exposure to two or more heavy metals may have cumulative effects.

Largest Proved Reserves

U.S. 22% 🇺🇸

Largest Producer

China 52% 🇨🇳

Largest Consumer

China 56% 🇨🇳

Amount Traded

22%
of global consumption

Largest Exporters

Indonesia 30% 🇮🇩
Australia 25% 🇦🇺

Largest Importer

China 32% 🇨🇳

Change in Global Trade

Increase:
⬆7%
(2019-2024)

Largest Proved Reserves

Montana 30%

Largest Producer

Wyoming 41%

Largest Consumer

Texas 12%

Underground Mining

60% of world 🌎
38% of U.S. 🇺🇸

Typical recovery rate per acre mined: 50%

Extracting coal through tunnels and shafts when coal seams are deep below the surface (typically 200+ feet). Miners work in underground chambers using machinery to cut and transport coal to the surface. Underground coal mining has a higher risk for miners than surface mining.

Surface Mining

40% of world 🌎
62% of U.S. 🇺🇸

Typical recovery rate per acre mined: 80%

Removing soil and rock layers (overburden) to access coal seams near the surface (typically less than 200 feet deep). Includes strip mining, mountaintop removal, and open-pit mining using large excavators and draglines.

Coal Ash is a Massive Waste Stream

1.1 billion tons per year in the world 🌎
64 million tons per year in the U.S. 🇺🇸

1 ton of coal ash is generated for every ~8 tons of coal burned

Since 1950, U.S. coal plants have generated ~7 billion tons of coal ash

Coal Ash is Toxic

Coal contains nearly the entire periodic table, including many toxic unburnable materials (e.g., heavy metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic; radioactive elements like uranium), which remain concentrated in the ash after combustion.

Coal ash can contaminate ground and surface water, harm wildlife, and displace communities if improperly contained. For example, selenium can cause deformities in fish.

Methods for Coal Ash Management

Wet storage: Surface impoundments/ponds. Many are unlined, posing groundwater contamination risk.

Dry storage: Landfills and dedicated coal ash dumps.

Repurpose: Incorporation of coal ash into products like concrete.

In June 2024, there were more than 1,000 active coal ash disposal sites in the U.S., according to the EPA.

Drivers

• Abundant
• Relatively low private costs (but note that high social and environmental costs are not factored into the price)
• Easy to store
• Sunk cost of infrastructure
• Historical dependence of some communities on coal industry
• Domestic availability of coal
• Lax regulations on waste, carbon, and air pollution from coal

Barriers

• Many externalities: air pollution, methane leakage, CO₂ emissions, heavy metals (e.g., mercury), coal dust, coal ash, water contamination, high water use, potential thermal pollution of water, land subsidence
• Health and safety of mine workers; public health impacts on local communities
• New and existing coal plants are no longer cost competitive in many major markets
• Coal-fired power plants are inflexible, making it hard to integrate with increasing renewables
• Bankruptcy plaguing the U.S. coal mining industry
• Legacy issues such as abandoned mines and leftover coal ash that require ongoing treatment and management

Climate Impact: High

• The most carbon-intensive energy source
• Escaping coal bed methane is also a potent greenhouse gas

Environmental Impact: High

• Combustion releases air pollutants (e.g., mercury, PM2.5, NOx, SO₂)
• Extraction/mining and coal ash harm landscapes and water quality
• Surface mining and mountaintop removal are particularly damaging

Updated February 2026