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Out of step: China is driving the continued growth of the global coal fleet

India retired roughly 7.4 gigawatts (GW) and added 82.3 GW of coal power plants in one and a half years, while China retired 39.4 GW and added 290 GW worth of coal power plants in this period, a report said. A Global Energy Monitor report from January 2018 to June 2019 said countries outside of China decreased their total coal power capacity by 8.1 GW, while China increased its coal fleet by 42.9 GW. The report, 'Out of Step: China is driving the continued growth of the global coal fleet', is based on plant-by-plant research. It finds that from 2018 through June 2019, countries outside of China decreased their total coal power capacity due to steady retirements and an ongoing decline in the commissioning of new coal plants.