Global coal-fired power production is expected to increase by 9% this year compared to last year 2020, threatening the stipulated targets for carbon neutrality by 2050, according to report from the International Energy Agency released this Friday, and reported by Bloomberg.

According to the International Energy Agency report, the United States of America and the European Union alone are projected to see a 20% increase in coal-fired power production in 2021, the largest year-on-year increase on record. In contrast, this increase is 12% in India and 9% in China, taking coal consumption to record levels in both countries.

"World coal demand is expected to grow by 6% in 2021, approaching the record levels reached in 2013 and 2014" the IEA report can read. China is the world's largest coal consumer, drawing on more than half of the total worldwide.

The document also points out that high energy prices, widespread since the end of the confinements, are at the root of the increase in coal demand and consumption.

According to IEA executive director Fatih Birol, "coal is the world's largest source of carbon emissions," and "this year's all-time high in energy production from this source is a worrying sign of how far the world is from reducing its emissions to carbon neutrality."

However, global demand for coal, whether for power generation or cement and steel production, is expected to increase 6% and that demand could reach a new high next year depending on economic growth and weather patterns, the agency added.