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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.
A worker sweeps snow in the town of Zhengding in north China’s Hebei province on January 5, 2020. Photo: Xinhua
China society

Opinion | Without pension reform, China is leaving its rural elderly out in the cold

What looks like a side-effect of ‘coal-to-gas’ heating programmes is really a structural issue: rural pensions are not enough to live on.

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China deflation

China’s solar firms, once deemed too competitive, now face monopoly accusations

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China exports

Goodwill or necessity? Why is China slashing solar and battery subsidies?

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Climate change

Opinion | How China quietly became the world’s climate policy leader

For better or worse, the future of climate action will be shaped as much by Beijing’s relentless pragmatism as by Western ideals.

Wind turbines are seen in Suichuan county, Jiangxi province, on July 17, 2025. Photo: AFP
China energy security

China vows to ramp up west-to-east power as AI, hi-tech industries fuel demand

New targets include a major expansion of renewable energy and more electricity funnelled to eastern regions.

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Environment

As Trump taps coal to power AI, China moves on to clothe the world with it

A once-struggling Chinese coal city turns the traditional fossil fuel into nylon, manufacturing popular fashion from sportswear to lingerie.

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China economy

Opinion | Arguing about China’s overcapacity overlooks its drive for clean energy

What is often described as overcapacity is the outcome of a development strategy that treats energy as the foundation of economic capability.

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Fields of solar panels at a power station in Weining, Guizhou province, in China on July 3. Photo: Xinhua
Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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Mainland China

Video | Mapping China’s quest to green its deserts

In 2024, China completed a 3,050km green belt that surrounds the Taklamakan, the country’s second largest desert.

China economy

Opinion | How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Beyond climate leadership and capacity building, China is rewriting its own energy system – and the global energy order.

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An aerial view of the No 1 booster station of the Ningxia Power Investment Yongli (Zhongwei) 3-megawatt photovoltaic green power project, in Shapotou district, Zhongwei city, Ningxia. It was officially connected to the grid and began power generation on October 25. Photo : Xinhua
Climate change

Opinion | How Hong Kong can distinguish itself as a climate finance hub

The city should lead by directing capital to projects that modernise grids, electrify transport and accelerate green supply chains.

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Hong Kong already ranks among the world’s leading financial centres and leads Asia in green and sustainable bond issuance. Photo: Sam Tsang
Science

China desalination tech makes fresh water cheaper than tap water – plus hydrogen

Facility in Shandong province also produces mineral-rich brine for industrial use, achieving ‘one-in, three-out’ circular economy.

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Climate change

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

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.

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People work at a garbage incinerator power station in Zhangye, a city in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Photo: Getty Images
Climate change

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

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Science

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

Supercritical carbon dioxide power system in southwest China is the world’s first commercial unit of its kind.

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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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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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Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets China’s Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang in Belem, Brazil on November 5, ahead of Cop30. Photo: AFP
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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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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Construction workers put up large umbrellas in Wan Chai on May 23, when a very hot weather warning was issued. Hong Kong has suffered 50 to 60 hot nights (over 28 degrees) every year since 2020, compared with around 20 a year a decade earlier. Photo: Dickson Lee
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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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.

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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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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An angler fishes across from the Wujing Power Station in Shanghai. China won’t back Brazil’s key rainforest initiative for the time being. Photo: AFP
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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The Wujing Power Station in Shanghai. China is set to join a coalition seeking shared rules for carbon trading at Cop30 in Belém, Brazil. Photo: AFP
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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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.

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