India drove an 11% rise in proposed global coal-mining capacity in 2025, despite evidence that worldwide coal demand is levelling off and renewable power is expanding. The planned expansion highlights the tension between India’s electricity needs for economic growth and worsening heatwaves, and efforts to reduce emissions from fossil fuels.

Proposed projects could add 2.5bn tonnes of annual coal supply, with new plans concentrated in Odisha and Jharkhand. India aims to raise output by almost 100m tonnes to 1.15bn tonnes in 2025-26, while newly opened mines globally fell 40% to about 113m tonnes of annual capacity; China and Australia saw sharp declines in mine openings.