Despite a global transition towards more renewable sources of energy, coal remains important in the global energy landscape, with global coal demand having reached about 8.8-billion tons in 2024.

Speaking to delegates at this year’s Joburg Indaba, coal miner Thungela CEO Moses Madondo discussed the evolving role of coal in a just and sustainable energy transition.

During his presentation, Madondo argued that coal is necessary for energy resilience, industrial competitiveness and the long arc of human development.

“The truth is the world needs energy, and coal remains the cornerstone to meet that energy demand,” he said, describing coal demand as robust.

Madondo explained that the surge in growth and development of AI, data infrastructure, electric vehicles and green industrialisation was fuelling new demand for energy.

He argued that this new demand, coupled with a long-term imperative for human development and the need to electrify the developing world required energy that was abundant, affordable and reliable.

Hence, he described coal as the “bedrock of energy generation”, given that it was an affordable, reliable and abundantly available energy source.

Nonetheless, Madondo expressed that, as global energy demand increased, the world needed to develop greener sources of energy at pace to meet the important objectives of decarbonisation, which he said also included coal.

In this vein, Madondo argued that the energy transition required the construction of renewable-energy infrastructure, such as solar panels, turbines and batteries, which he said necessitated the use of thermal coal.

“To be clear, today the world does not have affordable, fully scaled substitutes to replace coal for energy. The forecast, therefore, should be on how to get this coal energy cleaner,” he said.

Speaking in a question-and-answer session, he noted the importance of carbon capture and storage and, in some cases, utilisation of that capture.

Further, Madondo highlighted the impact of geopolitical events that had triggered renewed global energy security concern, such as the war in Ukraine and the rise of trade tensions owing to shifting US tariff regimes, which had introduced renewed economic policy uncertainty and, subsequently, weighed on global growth forecasts.

Madondo thus pointed out that these factors had created short-term volatility in demand and disrupted traditional supply patterns, forcing countries to rethink their energy strategies and accelerate domestic efforts.

“It has become clear that countries no longer want to depend on a single source or origin of energy to meet their economic and social agendas. But as we think about the market today, we must not mistake short-term demand softness for structural change in the market, which is largely really, as I indicate, driven by the effects of geopolitics.”

Regarding the supply of coal, Madondo discussed financing constraints and tightening policy frameworks.

He noted that the urgency of climate action had led to significant shifts in policy and funding, particularly from global institutions, making investment in coal increasingly difficult and, consequently, resulting in a lack of new build programmes.

“To meet the growing demand, more investment in coal is clearly required as it becomes . . . clear, of course, that other energy sources are unlikely to rise to the challenge and the demand that's required to meet all of the development goals that we need to meet,” he said, arguing that energy security must, therefore, remain central to the global conversation on the just energy transition.

He reiterated the importance of ensuring the role of coal in the energy mix and aligning energy choices with the needs of people, especially in the developing world.

“Unless this imbalance is addressed pragmatically, the world will find itself short of supply, with real consequences for energy security and the ability to develop economies,” he said.