Editorial comment

In the US, Winter Storm Fern placed the grid under pressure, with coal generation increasing sharply to stabilise supply as demand surged. In Australia, the decision to extend Eraring, the country’s largest coal-fired power station, until 2029 reinforces the same point: reliability cannot be compromised before alternatives are fully ready. When systems are tested, firm capacity proves essential.

In South Africa, Minister Gwede Mantashe has called for coal to be ‘reimagined’, not only as a power source, but as a strategic industrial asset capable of unlocking critical minerals, chemicals, and broader economic value. That shift signals something important: coal-producing nations are recognising that they must shape their own industrial future.

For several years, the global debate was framed in absolutes – phase out, divest, eliminate. Yet rising electricity demand, grid congestion, geopolitical volatility, and accelerating industrialisation have reinforced a fundamental truth: energy policy must be grounded in engineering, economics, and national priorities.

Coal remains the world’s largest source of electricity and a foundational input into steel, cement, and critical mineral supply chains. Demand growth across Asia and parts of Africa continues, driven by urbanisation, manufacturing expansion, electrification, and digital infrastructure. Data centres and advanced manufacturing are reshaping load profiles and reinforcing the need for dependable supply.

The defining question for 2026 is not whether coal has a role. It is whether coal-producing nations and companies will take ownership of that role – and modernise it.

This is where Sustainable Coal Stewardship (SCS), a pathway developed and advanced by Michelle Manook and the FutureCoal team, provides direction. SCS is a structured modernisation agenda for the coal value chain, encompassing efficiency improvements, methane management, high-efficiency technologies, carbon capture and storage, land rehabilitation, and the development of higher-value products beyond combustion – including coal-to-chemicals and critical minerals.

At its core, SCS recognises that sustainability is the ability to sustain – to sustain power systems, employment, industrial growth, and environmental improvement through measurable, technology-driven progress.

Across major coal economies, this approach is already advancing. India is scaling up coal gasification to strengthen industrial self-sufficiency. China continues deploying high-efficiency plants and expanding carbon capture while integrating coal into broader industrial value chains. In North America, research into coal-derived materials and critical minerals is linking coal directly to supply-chain resilience and advanced manufacturing.

These strategies reflect a common theme: countries are not abandoning coal. They are modernising it on their own terms.

FutureCoal’s expanding network of national chapters is central to that effort. The Southern Africa Chapter has shown how aligning producers, transporters, industrial users, and policymakers strengthens policy clarity and a unified voice. The India Chapter embeds coal modernisation within national development planning, and this year additional chapters, including AUSPAC and China, will extend that model of structured collaboration.

Each Chapter is built on a simple principle: energy and industrial policy must reflect national realities. Coal-producing nations and companies are not bystanders in the global debate; they are shaping their own trajectory.

Through the Chapters and SCS, FutureCoal is aligning the value chain around a modernisation agenda – deepening government engagement, supporting credible investment, and accelerating technology deployment.

2026 must be the year coal takes ownership of its future, and that future will belong to those who choose to modernise with clarity, conviction, and responsibility.