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China and climate change

China and climate change
The latest news, analysis and opinion on China and climate change. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
People work at a garbage incinerator power station in Zhangye, a city in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Photo: Getty Images
China exports

Waste to wealth: why China is building incinerators around the world

China’s economic slowdown has left its waste-to-energy sector without enough trash to burn. So, companies are heading overseas.

Climate change

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

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Science

Nuclear tech milestone: China’s supercritical generator connects to grid

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Climate change

Opinion | China’s quiet climate leadership offers hope for Global South and world

The Global North is failing to deliver on its climate pledges while Beijing patiently lays the groundwork for a greener future.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Climate change

Macroscope | What China, not the free market, gets right about climate finance

China’s central and local governments and state entities are willing to issue or guarantee green bonds on a scale unmatched elsewhere.

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Science

Why China’s mega coal-fired power plants thrive amid green energy boom

Gansu province is a leading source of solar and wind-powered energy, but cannot yet end its reliance on carbon-heavy power sources.

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Science

China overtakes US in medical research in science power shift: top publisher

Country is ‘now global leader in scientific publishing and output’, Fred Fenter, chief executive editor of Swiss-based Frontiers, says.

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In 2024, China accounted for half of the paper published in the medical field, according to an academic publisher. Photo: Shutterstock
Climate change

Outside In | Takeaway from Cop30: climate action needs to be up close and local

A focus on adaptation means a pivot to action on floods, typhoons, heatstroke deaths, wildfire damage – issues of immediate survival.

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Climate change

Opinion | A global green industrialisation initiative can have a ‘win-win-win’ outcome

China’s green manufacturing capacity could be aligned with the West’s technological and capital strengths and the Global South’s development needs.

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Climate change

Editorial | As the US sits out Cop30, China and others must pick up the slack

Technology and investment partnerships, especially among developing nations, could reinvigorate efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Indigenous leaders gather in the Cop30 Village during the UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil on November 12. Photo: Reuters
Climate change

Opinion | Can China balance green ambition with everyday ways of life?

If not managed carefully, China’s green goals could perpetuate environmental injustice, impacting biodiversity and people’s livelihoods.

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Sheep graze under solar panels on a hillside at Huangjiao village in Baoding in China’s Hebei province in 2021. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

China refuses to back Brazil’s crucial rainforest fund

Beijing says wealthy countries should shoulder more responsibility as Lula prepares personal appeal to Xi at the G20 summit in South Africa.

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China-Latin America relations

Cop30: China to join coalition seeking shared rules for carbon trading

New alliance, which also includes the EU and UK, was created to align standards globally and help countries trade carbon credits more easily.

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China-Latin America relations

China joins support for Brazil’s Forest Fund but delays financial commitment

Brazil’s finance chief urges patience, saying Beijing wants a role in designing the new fund before pledging money.

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Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang (left) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met on Wednesday in Belem, Brazil. Photo: AFP
Energy

China has a new champ in coal-fired power despite focus on renewable energy

Commissioning of Unit Nine takes Beilun Power Station’s total installed capacity to 7.34GW, the highest of any thermal power station in China.

The Beilun Power Station, in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. Photo: Handout
Science

Lead scientist of China’s thorium reactor project died working on the computer

Death of nuclear physicist Xu Hongjie came just weeks before the project he led achieved a breakthrough in fourth-generation nuclear power.

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Science

China reaches energy independence milestone by ‘breeding’ uranium from thorium

Chinese research institute confirms success of fission-based innovation that is poised to reshape clean, sustainable nuclear power.

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Renewable energy

Opinion | How strategic planning is powering China’s green energy transition

China’s energy strategy reflects a long-term vision made possible by political stability and a governance model ensuring policy continuity.

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The sun sets over solar panels deployed at the Kubuqi Photovoltaic Desert Control Project near Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on August 11. Photo: AFP
China energy security

‘Very ambitious’: China’s wind firms aim to double installations for 2026-2030

China’s wind industry, already the world leader, sets target of at least 120 gigawatts of new turbines installed per year from 2026 to 2030.

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China food security

‘Extremely dangerous’: why China’s 5-year plan will double down on food security

Beijing has made huge strides in its self-sufficiency push – but trade tensions, climate risks and supply-chain shocks keep fears alive.

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Business of climate change

China’s clean-energy stocks closing gap with global renewables surge

Policy tailwinds could help Chinese solar and energy-storage shares catch up with a global gold-beating rally, analysts say.

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Solar panels and wind turbines are seen at the Huaneng Binzhou new energy power generation project in Binzhou, in China’s eastern Shandong province, on June 11, 2025. Photo: AFP
China energy security

In a first, China launches commercial underwater data centre to power data future

The project could prove a boon for sustainability, as underwater data centres consume less energy than land-based facilities.

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A new data centre capsule integrated into an energy-efficient underwater data processing cluster near Hainan province earlier this year. Photo: CCTV
China exports

China’s cleantech creating ‘new global energy system’ as exports soar: report

Demand for clean technology is ‘skyrocketing’, especially in Global South, as China drives creation of cheaper solutions, report says.

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Artificial intelligence

China tests underwater data centres to reduce AI carbon footprint

‘Underwater facilities can save around 90 per cent of energy consumption for cooling,’ vice-president of Highlander says.

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Science

Climate change made damage from Super Typhoon Ragasa significantly worse: study

Around a third of the extensive damage the storm caused in southern China was the result of global warming, scientists estimate.

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The storm caused extensive damage, estimated to cost billions of US dollars, in southern China. Photo: Xinhua
China energy security

China surpasses 10,000km of subsea pipelines, boosting offshore energy network

Pipeline network is designed to be able to carry green fuels, offering China more flexibility in its transition towards clean energy.

A worker stands on pipes at an offshore oil engineering company in China’s Shandong province. Photo: AFP
China’s fourth plenum

Energy transition goals in China’s 15th five-year plan

China’s 15th five-year plan will lay out plans for reaching its “dual carbon” goals, and targets under the Paris Agreement, as it seeks to replace energy from fossil fuels with renewables.

China trade

China makes global leadership push as US retreats

Beijing boosted its efforts to develop a multipolar world at the UN this week in contrast to US President Donald Trump’s combative stance.

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