Gavin Maguire

US coal binge helps Asia pull ahead of the West in clean power push Major Asian economies including China, India, Japan and Vietnam have cleaned up their power generation systems by more than the United States and Europe in 2025, setting the stage for an East-West div...

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The chief driver of the rise in U.S. carbon intensity has been a roughly 13% increase in coal-fired power generation, which has lifted U.S. power sector emissions from fossil fuel use to three-year highs.

Over the first 10 months of 2025, the United States was the only major power market to increase the carbon intensity of power generation compared to the year before, according to data from energy think tank Ember.

Major Asian economies including China, India, Japan and Vietnam have cleaned up their power generation systems by more than the United States and Europe in 2025, setting the stage for an East-West divergence in energy transition momentum heading into 2026.

The European countries most impacted by Russian gas phase-out The European Union's plans to phase out Russian natural gas imports by 2027 will impact some member nations more than others, due to wide country variance in gas dependence and differing abilities to ...

To help outline potential grounds for dispute among impacted countries, below is a breakdown of Europe's most gas-dependent nations and key regional gas import trends.
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More opposition as well as further refining of the final plan can be expected over the coming months, which EU authorities hope to pass legislation on in early 2026.

Some countries - including Hungary and Slovakia - are weighing legal action against the EU as their economies are highly dependent on gas for power and industry and can't benefit from LNG imports as they are landlocked.

The European Union's plans to phase out Russian natural gas imports by 2027 will impact some member nations more than others, due to wide country variance in gas dependence and differing abilities to switch suppliers to other origins.

High and rising natural gas costs may spur fresh climb in US coal use Benchmark U.S. natural gas prices are ending 2025 in the manner that they began - with a strong rally. And that's bad news for people hoping for further cuts to U.S. coal use.

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A similar pattern seems to be unfolding as 2025 winds down, with coal-fired generation on the rise and gas-fired output getting pared back as gas prices approach three-year highs and strain the budgets of power suppliers.

Between January and March of this year, U.S. gas prices jumped by a third due to a cold snap and strong LNG exports, which in turn sparked higher U.S. coal-fired power generation as utilities cut costs by burning cheaper coal instead of gas.

Benchmark U.S. natural gas prices are ending 2025 in the manner that they began - with a strong rally. And that's bad news for people hoping for further cuts to U.S. coal use.

That heightened competition will severely test the U.S. ability to remain the top global LNG supplier, as it will lead to sharply higher transit costs for U.S. exporters and narrower profit margins as sellers compete for deals.

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If the U.S. is to cement its role as the preeminent global supplier of LNG, export flows will need to grow sharply in key markets outside of Europe in areas where the likes of Qatar, Australia, Malaysia and Russia are already well established.

Further, the U.S. share of exports into the largest region for LNG imports - Asia - is far smaller than rivals Qatar and Australia, which enjoy far more cost-effective shipping times to key markets such as Japan, China and India.

But while U.S. liquefied natural gas exports in 2025 are nearly a third more than those of the next largest exporter, the heavy skew of sales to Europe leaves American LNG vendors at risk of rapid volume downturns as European buyers curb gas use.

A potent mix of American ingenuity and full-throated political backing has propelled the U.S. to the top of global LNG exporter rankings, and promoted a narrative that shipments of "freedom gas" will continue climbing to all markets for years to come.

BESS boom - China's battery exports charge to new highs

China's exports of batteries and battery energy storage systems (BESS) have hit a record in 2025, soaring by 24% from the year before over the first nine months of the year.

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Global power generation capacity is on track to expand by just over 25% once projects that are currently under construction are completed and steer power onto generation systems and electricity grids.

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Ten charts on global energy and emissions trends since Paris treaty In the decade since the landmark COP21 Paris agreement aimed to limit global warming, both a lot and a little has changed when it comes to the energy sector makeup and the trajectory of emissions.

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Ten charts on global energy and emissions trends since Paris treaty:
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On the other hand, global output and use of coal, crude oil and natural gas have continued to climb to fresh records, along with resulting energy use emissions, which in 2024 were nearly 10% more than discharged in 2015.

On the one hand, an explosion in renewable energy deployment and a surge in electric vehicle sales have upended global power and car markets and ushered in an ongoing "electrify everything" push across the planet.

In the decade since the landmark COP21 Paris agreement aimed to limit global warming, both a lot and a little has changed when it comes to the energy sector makeup and the trajectory of emissions.
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Germany's higher gas use hampers Europe's stockpiling drive:

Germany's highest gas-fired power generation levels since 2021 are scuppering regional efforts to replenish natural gas stockpiles ahead of the peak season for gas-fired power demand.

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Taiwan bucks Asia's clean power drive with record gas burn:

Taiwan's utilities have cranked natural gas-fired electricity generation to new highs this year, bucking regional and global trends toward increased clean energy within power mixes:

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Charting China's evolving primary energy mix through 2060 The world's largest goods and raw materials producer, China, has a commensurately large energy demand footprint, is the top global consumer of power and electricity, and is also the world's largest energy polluter.

The world's largest goods and raw materials producer, China, has a commensurately large energy demand footprint, is the top global consumer of power and electricity, and is also the world's largest energy polluter:

However, it has big plans to change:

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It's not just the U.S., Qatar and Australia that are vying for a share of the lucrative LNG export market. Malaysia wants a cut too, and is retooling its own power generation system to do it.

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Natural gas consumption by U.S. LNG firms looks set to overtake gas use by U.S. households for the first time in 2025, stoking tensions between the export-oriented LNG sector and domestic gas consumers already saddled with record-high energy bills.

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Manufacturers in North America and Europe are set to embark on starkly different power-source paths in the decades ahead, which could reshape the future prospects for goods producers on both sides of the Atlantic.

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