Target $18.72, page-6620

What was quoted in the article directly above by @ShareJagger refers to 2022 coal usage. It did not quote does the 2023 demand for coal- it will again be a new record, increasing 0.4% against 2022 (which was the previous record).

As experts state that aircon use is inexorably rising around the world (& is essential for the health of many elderly people, who could die from prolonged high temperatures, if they do not have aircons), thermal coal power provides cheap, reliable baseload power.
(Aircons create peak power, as they are invariably turned on, almost simultaneously, c. the hottest time of the day- only coal & gas can be relied on for peak, baseload power).

China has had a "large decrease in hydropower generation" this 2023 summer, mainly in heavily-populated sthn China (due to drought, as it did last summer). Europe also had declines in hydropower last summer- both want & need gas & coal for baseload power! Renewables cant cut the mustard!

oilprice.com T. paraskova 27.7.23 said

"Last year, global coal demand increased by 3.3% to 8.3 billion tons—a new record-high, the agency said in itsCoal Market Update.

This year, coal demand will inch up by 0.4% year-on-year, to 8.388 billion tons, due to continued growth in industrial coal use which would offset an expected small decline in coal-fired power generation, according to the IEA estimates.

“Whether coal demand in 2023 grows or declines, will depend on weather conditions (will the EU & UK have a colder than average 2023/24 winter? El nino scientists state that the nthn. part of Europe is expected to be colder than average in the 2023/24 winter- my words in brackets) and on the economies of large coal consuming nations,” the agency noted...

In China, the top global coal consumer, demand jumped by 5.5% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year, due to very low hydro output so far this year, the IEA said.

So far this year, Chinahas relied heavily on coalto offset a large decrease in hydropower generation. At the same time, China’s coal output has increased from last year, and coal imports have surged, while top officials are meeting with power firms and the state grid operator to stress the importanceof keeping power on during the summer when China also hopes to see its economy rebounding from the lower-than-expected growth in the second quarter".

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Global-Coal-Demand-To-Stay-At-Record-High-Levels-In-2023.html