China added the most number of new coal power plants last year despite being the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles (EV), a new report says.
China’s continued construction of new coal power plants comes as the global community has demanded that Beijing reduce its reliance on coal for energy goals. Beijing insists that new coal power plants will operate as a backup to sporadic wind and solar energy, but the construction of new coal plants continues at a breakneck speed.
China accounted for 96 percent of new coal power construction globally last year, according to data released by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) on February 5. GEM has reported that China was the leading contributor to the construction of coal projects while accounting for 70 percent of the all-new coal-fueled power plants that came online.
China also added 81 percent of newly announced projects and 68 percent of new generators coming online, GEM said in their new report.
GEM has revealed that China added as much as 191 gigawatts of coal-fired power generation over the past five years, accounting for 64 percent of the new coal power projects worldwide between 2019-2023.
Experts have pointed out that China, rather than phasing out coal for energy generation, is rapidly increasing its use of fossil fuels.
“Even though coal represents only 40% of the capacity of electricity generation in China, in 2023, it accounted for over 60% of the electricity generated in the country,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for Energy and Innovation at the University of Houston in Texas, told POWER, a specialist publication on the energy market.
In 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to ramp up the use of green and renewable energy while reducing dependence on coal plants.
“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” Xi said in his address at the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.
In recent years, China’s rise as the hub of EV manufacturing has shored up some confidence in Beijing’s strategy to combat climate change.
In 2021, China dominated the electric car market, with new EV sales increasing by 82 percent, accounting for 16.5 million electric cars on the road, according to the International Energy Association.
Between 2021 and 2022, China faced an extreme energy shortage, which forced Beijing to ramp up coal-firing plants, overturning the trend of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels.
Newsweek contacted China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.
China’s ongoing use of coal-fired plants has raised concerns about Beijing’s commitment to combating climate change.
“China, despite COP28 commitments and broader investments into green energy investments, is perfectly fine with not only expanding its use of coal but accommodating that growing demand,” Irina Tsukerman, a geopolitical analyst and president of Scarab Rising, said, according to POWER.
During the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in December 2023, China’s former climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, who stepped down from the role last month, had said that Beijing faces “technical bottlenecks” in phasing out coal plants.
“The actual power generated by renewables is not growing as fast as the installed capacity because we still face technical bottlenecks, difficulties like large-scale energy storage, smart grids and virtual power plants. So I believe if we get all these technical difficulties reserved, China’s renewable energy will develop even faster and better in the future.” Xie said in Dubai, according to the Guardian.
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