China expands coal use to boost economic growth
China is approving plans for new coal power plant capacity at the fastest rate since 2015 in an attempt to boost the economy amid the pandemic crisis.
The plan, which undermines the transition to cleaner energy sources, will add over 40GW to the country’s power supply, according to new data acquired by the Financial Times.
Survey data from the Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air also show that China approved the construction of more coal power plant capacity in the period to mid-June than in all of 2018 and 2019 combined.
China’s energy policy is crucial to determining the success of the Paris climate agreement, which aims to limit global warming to less than 2C.
Coal sector activity in the country is now threatening to compromise the environmental targets set by China’s central government.
China remained the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal which in 2019 still accounted for more than half of its energy mix.
Nonetheless, during the previous week, six Chinese ministries had called to “consolidate the work of resolving excess coal production”, signalling Beijing’s apparent concern over the pace of new projects, the FT reported.
Despite China's pledge to reach a peak in carbon emissions by 2030, concerns were that it would fall short.
In the first five months of 2020, the Asian country's coal output reached nearly 1.5bn tonnes, up 0.9% year-on-year.