China’s continuing coal splurge underlines its disingenuous environmental rhetoric
Tom Rogan
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China has pledged to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. But a new report from the Global Energy Monitor think tank finds that China is continuing to surge its construction of coal power plants. The report underlines Xi Jinping’s dishonesty when he claims that China sees global carbon emissions as a major concern deserving of urgent remedial action.
The report makes clear the scale of this coal surge: “China now has 243 gigawatts of coal power under construction and permitted. When projects currently announced or in the preparation stage but not yet permitted are included, this number rises to 392 GW.” It notes that this construction belies Chinese Communist Party regulations that new plants only be approved if they will “support” clean energy projects. The report finds that there is “no effective enforcement of the policies limiting new project permitting.”
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On the contrary, “Only 47 out of the 216 coal power units permitted in 2022–23, representing about 16% of the permitted capacity, are in locations where the existing and planned large-scale solar and wind capacity exceeds existing and planned coal power capacity. … In more than half of the locations, there is more than three times as much coal as known large-scale wind and solar capacity.” The report documents that while China may still peak its carbon emissions in 2030, these new coal plants risk this peak being at a significantly higher carbon output level than otherwise would be the case.
This is a striking example of the discrepancy between what Xi’s regime says and what it actually does. It underlines that what Xi cares about most and always is maximal economic growth and social stability. And that means cheap, stable electricity supplies. The report observes, “It appears that the central government is encouraging coal power investment with few if any preconditions, as a part of efforts to offset the weakness in other parts of the economy.” This is no small concern for Xi. After all, China’s economy faces an array of both short-term and structural headwinds.
Still, the report should serve as a data-supported wake-up call for the international community. It proves that while Beijing talks a good game on climate change, for the Chinese Communist Party, climate change is ultimately seen as a useful lever to extract concessions on other issues from the West. The European Union, which places particular emphasis on the need to engage with China for reasons of climate change cooperation, should pay particular note.
Unfortunately, however, this is only the tip of Beijing’s disingenuous environmentalism iceberg. As with its policies with oceans and rivers, this regime has shown it has little regard for Earth’s well-being.