Burning More Coal at Home Is Worsening India’s Pollution

India reduced its imports of coal in 2024. On the face of it, this would have been wonderful news for power sector emissions in the world’s second-largest coal consumer, if we don’t analyze what’s behind lower coal imports. India has been looking to cut its dependence on foreign coal supply to meet its surging power demand and has hiked domestic production. While coal is abundant in domestic mines, it is typically of lower quality and contains lower levels of energy when burnt compared to most imports. Therefore, India needs to…