Increased investment in coal-fired power has put China’s ability to meet its coming climate targets in jeopardy and could threaten global efforts to cap rising temperatures.
The world’s largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases approved an estimated 114 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity last year, even more than in 2022 when it permitted the equivalent of two new coal power plants per week, according to a new study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the Global Energy Monitor.
Approvals of new coal power plants quadrupled in 2022 and 2023 compared with the five years from 2016 through 2020, the research shows. China has permitted nearly 220 GW of new coal power over the past two years and started construction on 89 GW, it noted.
At the same time, the country added more than 210 GW of solar power in 2023 alone.
