Source: China Is Winning in Solar Power, but Its Coal Use Is Raising Alarms – The New York Times
China is building as much clean energy capacity over four years as it had promised to build in 10 years, but continues to add coal-fired power plants.
By Keith Bradsher and Lisa Friedman
Keith Bradsher reported from Weifang, China, and Lisa Friedman from Washington.
Published Nov. 2, 2023Updated Nov. 3, 2023
China is installing about as many solar panels and wind turbines as the rest of the world combined, and is on track to meet its target for clean energy six years early. It is using renewables to meet nearly all of the growth in its electricity needs.
Yet there is another side to that rapid expansion, one that is causing consternation in Washington at a critical period of climate diplomacy: China is also building new power plants that burn coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, at a pace that dwarfs the rest of the world.
China accounts for a third of the world’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions — more than North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Africa combined.
John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate change, is preparing to host his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, for talks starting on Friday at the Sunnylands estate in Southern California, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning details. President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, began a joint push for climate action a decade ago at Sunnylands.
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