China can become a renewable-energy superpower if it follows Norway’s path – away from coal
- Norway’s government and private sector are moving away from coal and raising the ceiling on investment in renewables. As the world’s biggest emitter, it is essential for China to do the same
This week, KLP, a large Norwegian pension fund managing US$80 billion, announced the divestment of its entire coal portfolio, shedding 46 companies, including Chinese enterprises Shaanxi Coal, Shanxi Luan Environmental Energy, Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power, Shenergy and Guanghui Energy.
As such, it will become the first major fund to go coal free. Our rationale is evident: there is no space for new coal plants, no matter how efficient they profess to be, if we are to limit global temperature rises and avert climate change disaster.
Therefore, authorities, businesses and society in general need to step up their climate efforts in the coming years, across all sectors. Existing coal plants already in operation are set to expend the entire carbon budget for the coal sector. Coal cannot, and should not, be part of the energy supply in the future.
An expansion of coal power threatens not just China’s own survival, but that of the entire planet.
