Headquartered in Paris, the International Energy Agency (IEA) 16 release of " coal market interim report " shows that China's coal consumption in 2012 reached 3.68 billion tons , an increase of 4.7 % over the previous year, the growth rate down 4.7 percentage points over the previous year .

The report stressed that the Chinese government has taken measures to encourage energy efficiency and promote energy diversification , to change the mode of growth, reduce the demand for coal. Chinese policy adjustments have been affected by the global coal market trends.

The report notes that in 1984 China became the world's largest consumer of coal in 2012, accounting for 47.8% of global coal consumption, a record high. The next five years , China's demand for coal remains strong , accounting for 60% of global demand increment.

The report also shows that due to the exploitation of shale gas , coal consumption in the United States in 2012 fell by 10.7% . As the world's second largest consumer of coal , the U.S. demand for coal is expected to remain relatively stable over the next five years. Earlier, mainly European countries demand fell more than 6 %, while India, Russia and other emerging economies will demand a faster pace.