China and India have approved the construction of the largest capacity of new coal-fired power plants in a decade, as the world’s two most populous nations seek to bolster energy security, according to the International Energy Agency.

China gave the green light to almost 100 gigawatts of new coal-fired plants in 2024, and India a further 15 gigawatts, pushing global approvals to their highest level since 2015, the Paris-based agency said.

“The capacity in coal is increasing,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview as the agency published its annual World Energy Investment report. “But we also see that the capacity utilization rate in China is lower than in previous years, they are mainly using this when there are major challenges to meet the electricity demand.”

Investments in coal supply continue to tick upward with another 4% increase expected in 2025, a slight slowdown compared with the 6% annual average growth seen over the last five years, the IEA said. “Nearly all the growth in coal investments in 2024 came from China and India to meet domestic demand,” according to the report.

Trends in coal and other carbon-intensive sources may not be conducive to meeting global climate targets, but global investments in clean energy are set to be twice as much as spending on fossil fuels in 2025 for the second year in a row.

Capital flows to all energy industries are set to rise 2% to $3.3 trillion this year, compared with 2024, the IEA report said. This includes $2.2 trillion going to renewables, nuclear, power grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification — twice as much as the $1.1 trillion going to oil, natural gas and coal.

Investments in electricity are set to reach $1.5-trillion in 2025, about 50% higher than the amount being spent on bringing oil, natural gas and coal to market. This trend is being shaped by the rapid rise in electricity demand for industry, cooling, electric mobility, data centers and artificial intelligence.

“Investment in grids is struggling to keep pace with the rise in power demand and renewables deployment,” the IEA report said.

Spending on solar, both utility-scale and rooftop, is expected to reach $450-billion in 2025, making it the largest single recipient of the world’s energy investments.