Coal is set to surge as a chemical raw material

Using coal to make industrial chemicals releases even more greenhouse gas than burning coal for energy. Despite this, the practice is on the rise. The number of new coal-based chemical plants being planned has almost doubled in the past year to 47, according to the latest edition of the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL), a database created by almost 50 nongovernment organizations including Urgewald, an environmental group. Typically, coal is converted into chemicals such as urea, ammonia, methanol, and olefins by applying an initial gasification step. Of the 47 coal-to-chemical plants identified, 21 are set to be built in China. In 2024, 7% of the coal used by China—the world’s biggest consumer of coal—was converted into chemicals, the report says. India is second fastest when it comes to expanding coal-to-chemical capacity, with 14 plants in planning, encouraged by coal gasification subsidies. Indonesia plans to build 6 plants, Kazakhstan 3, Botswana 2, and Pakistan 1, Urgewald says. If all the plants are built, they will consume at least 145 million metric tons (t) per year of coal and release substantially more than this in greenhouse gases, according to Urgewald. Coal is by far the dirtiest raw material for making industrial chemicals. Carbon dioxide emissions during ammonia production are, for example, tripled when coal is used as a feedstock instead of natural gas, Urgewald says.“None of the planned plants would be economically viable without government subsidies,” says Heffa Schuecking, director of Urgewald. “For example, in China, the sector has been exempted from