China should stop building more coal power plants soon, climate change think tank says ahead of Glasgow summit

Name: China launches world’s largest carbon-trading scheme as part of 2060 carbon neutrality goal
Uploaded: 2021-09-13T23:30:21.000Z
Duration: 2 min 38 s
Description: China launches world’s largest carbon-trading scheme as part of 2060 carbon neutrality goal

China commissioned 76 per cent of new capacity globally last year, up from 64 per cent in 2019, E3G says

Beijing has yet to translate into detailed policies a commitment by Xi to ‘strictly control’ coal consumption between 2021-25 and phase it down in the following five years

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A coal power plant in China’s Inner Mongolia region. Photo: Getty Images

Eric Ng

Published: 7:30am, 14 Sep 2021Updated: 12:25pm, 14 Sep 2021

China has shrunk its coal power projects pipeline by 74 per cent since committing to the Paris Agreement on climate change, but it should do more to curb new construction, according to a think tank that has called for a total ban on new projects.

As new projects slowed to a trickle everywhere, China – home to more than half of the world’s operating coal power generating capacity – commissioned 76 per cent of new capacity globally last year, up from 64 per cent in 2019, E3G said in report on Tuesday.

“[Last year] saw China’s position as the world’s major coal pursuing nation become further entrenched, as the scale of new plants entering operations offset a retreat from coal across the rest of the globe,” said the Europe-based climate risk, finance and energy policy advocacy.

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China launches world’s largest carbon-trading scheme as part of 2060 carbon neutrality goal

It called on global governments, including China’s, to collectively respond to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ appeal in August to stop building new coal capacity from next year, ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow in November.

To make good on the global commitment made in Paris – keeping global warming at 1.5 degrees by 2100 from the second half of the 19th century to avoid disastrous climate change impact – he said the developed world must also phase out existing coal capacity by 2030, followed by all other nations by 2040. Other fossil fuel use also needs to be phased out, while renewable energy investment be raised manyfold.

“As the clock ticks down to COP26 [in Glasgow], the spotlight is shining on the remaining 37 countries that currently still have a pre-construction pipeline of coal power plants,” E3G said. “China … India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey and Bangladesh account for over four-fifths of the world’s remaining pipeline.”

So far this year, China has added about 29.8 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. Elsewhere, the shutdowns of old coal power stations was offset to a greater extent, so that a net increase of 12.5GW was recorded globally, it added. This is despite China cancelling 484GW of projects in the pipeline – a 74 per cent cut – since the Paris Agreement came into force in 2016. Project cancellations amounted to 85 per cent among developed countries and 77 per cent in the developing world outside China.