China Briefing
By Carbon Brief
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China Briefing: ‘Longest sustained’ emissions drop; Xie’s Europe trip; Road transport emissions
China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have fallen for “three straight quarters”, the “longest sustained” emissions decline the country has seen in “at least a decade”, according to a new Carbon Brief guest post. The drop in the first three months of 2022 – a…
China Briefing: China to ‘significantly overachieve’ 2030 targets; Sea levels ‘highest on record’; Power cuts ‘must not occur’
China is set to “significantly overachieve” its announced climate targets for 2030, with its emissions projected to peak “by 2025”, according to a new Carbon Brief guest post. However, the post also said that China’s emissions trajectory and current targets a…
China Briefing: ‘Gigantic’ wind and solar bases; Coal capacity ‘surge’; Loans for ‘clean’ coal
A new Carbon Brief guest post has examined China’s plans to build “gigantic” wind and solar power “bases” and their implications for the country’s carbon-peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The analysis found that China is set to add at least 570 gigawatts (…
China Briefing: ‘Unified national energy market’; Guidelines for petrochemical; Energy storage analysis
China has called for the establishment of a “unified national energy market” in new guidelines. This attempt could help China withstand soaring global prices for oil and gas and enhance its domestic energy supply, according to Chinese analysis. The country ha…
China Briefing: Carbon peaking ‘around 2027’; EU-China summit; Food systems for cutting CO2
A government-linked study involving dozens of China’s top academics has projected the country to peak its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions “around 2027” at “about” 12.2bn tonnes (Gt), according to Chinese state TV. The study also found that China “can achieve c…
China Briefing: Impact of coal push; ‘No new overseas coal power projects’; Analysis on energy plans
New analysis by Carbon Brief has examined China’s recent coal push and the implications for its climate goals. Beijing has repeatedly ordered the nation to boost its coal production and coal supply since widespread power shortages occurred in late 2021. The a…
China Briefing: 14FYP energy plan; More plans on energy storage and hydrogen; China’s emissions analysis
This week has been a busy week for China’s climate policy watchers. On Tuesday, Beijing quietly dropped its 14th five-year plan (FYP) for the energy sector, a much-anticipated document that sets the tone for the industry’s development from 2021 to 2025. The p…
China Briefing: Beijing ‘doubling down on fossil fuels’; China’s CO2 emissions increase; Coal production growth
Chinese leaders are “doubling down on fossil fuels” amid “growing” fears of global energy shortages and “rising” concerns of an economic slump, according to Bloomberg. The news came after the Chinese government repeatedly underlined the importance of energy s…
China Briefing: Changes to energy targets; Xi’s coal directives; Analysis on ‘record high’ coal consumption
The Chinese leadership has made several adjustments to its energy targets in the latest government work report delivered at the “two sessions”, a series of key political meetings. Most notably, it did not set an annual energy intensity target for 2022. The of…
China Briefing: Impacts of Ukraine invasion; Annual statistical report; Bitcoin ‘getting even dirtier’
Chinese media outlets have analysed how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might impact global energy supplies. An opinion piece in a state-run newspaper said the “Ukraine crisis” highlighted the EU’s “short-sightedness” on its energy security, while a financial ou…
China Briefing: New economics measures; Assessing China’s climate pledges; Coal plant research
A dozen government agencies jointly issued a new notice last Friday, laying out 18 directives for the country’s industrial economy for 2022. At least half of the measures are “directly related” to China’s climate goals, one expert told Carbon Brief. He added …
China Briefing: New energy transition guidance; Five coal plants approved; Energy-efficiency targets raised
China has issued “detailed” instructions on how to push forward its energy transition, state media reported. A government spokesperson said that the “top-level” directives aimed to address the “shortcomings” of the existing system and policies to facilitate t…
China Briefing, 10 February 2022: ‘Green’ Olympics; Steel industry instructions; Beijing-Moscow energy deal
New analysis published by Carbon Brief has examined how Beijing attempts to power the Winter Olympics 2022 with 100% “green” energy. The assessment found that the event has accelerated the renewable energy development of the co-host city of Zhangjiakou, which…
China Briefing: Power market reform; ‘Energy-conserving’ 14FYP scheme; Xi’s trip to coal province
Two Chinese central government agencies have announced joint directives to deepen the nation’s power market reform. A Beijing-based professor has told Carbon Brief that the document – published last Friday – intends to guide China to build a Europe-style unif…
China Briefing: Surge in offshore wind; Xi’s new speech; IEA’s report
The installed capacity of China’s offshore wind power has “jumped to the world’s number one” after the nation built 16.9 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2021, China’s state media reported. The rapid expansion – which would equal installing 30 large offshore…
China Briefing: ‘Record-high’ coal output; Winter Olympics 2022; Xi’s new directives
China’s coal mining hit a “record high” in December, reaching 384.67m tonnes – a 7.2% year-on-year increase – according to Reuters. It added that the country’s coal production for the whole of 2021 also broke the record, totalling 4.07bn tonnes, up 4.7% compa…
China Briefing, 6 January 2022: New ‘giant’ coal power plant; Hottest year on record; HFC policy
A new major coal-fired power project in northern China has partially gone into operation after a 1,000-megawatt unit began generating electricity in late December. Its operator said that the plant – described by Reuters as “giant” – is the largest coal-fired …
China Briefing: Analysis of Beijing’s new pledge; Interview with senior advisers; Economic planning meeting
Last Thursday, Carbon Brief published in-depth analysis of China’s updated Paris Agreement pledge and new long-term climate strategy. Despite widespread international disappointment by the revised targets, experts told Carbon Brief that those two documents – …
China Briefing: Quarterly emissions fall; Power shortages’ impact; China-Russia energy cooperation
China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by around 0.5% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to a year earlier, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief’s guest contributor, Lauri Myllyvirta. The article said that “the drop in emissions could mark a turn…
China Briefing: Xi-Biden meeting; Methane emissions; ‘Historic new high’ for coal
China’s president Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden discussed climate issues this week in their first virtual meeting. Xi said climate change could become a “new highlight in the Sino-US cooperation”. Biden called on the two sides to “work together …