China is thwarting efforts to reduce coal emissions.

 

Smoke and steam rising from the towers of the coal-fired Urumqi thermal power plant as seen from a plane in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China on April 21, 2021. Hide Mark Schiffleben / AP captions

Toggle Caption Mark Schiffleben / AP

Smoke and steam rise from the towers of the coal-fired Urumqi thermal power plant, as seen from a plane in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China on April 21, 2021.

Mark Schiffleben / AP

BEIJING - China is boosting its coal-fired power as the ruling Communist Party seeks to revive a sluggish economy, warning Beijing's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from climate change, the world's largest source of energy. Leaving behind

According to reports, government plans to increase coal production capacity to 300 million tonnes this year. That's 7% of last year's production of 4.1 billion tonnes, up 5.7% from 2020.

China is one of the largest investors in wind and solar energy, but anxious leaders called for more coal-fired power after blackouts and factory shutdowns last year due to a slowdown in economic growth. ۔ Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns that foreign oil and coal supplies could be disrupted.

"This mindset of ensuring energy security has prevailed, eliminating carbon neutrality," said Lee Shaw, a senior global policy adviser at Greenpeace. "We are moving towards a relatively unfavorable time for climate action in China."

Officials are under political pressure to ensure stability as President Xi Jinping prepares to break with tradition and prepare himself for a third five-year term as leader of the ruling party in the fall.

According to Caixin, a business news magazine, coal is important for "energy security", cabinet officials said at an April 20 meeting that approved plans to increase production capacity.

The ruling party is also building power plants to reinvigorate the economy and boost growth, which plunged 4% in the last quarter of 2021 a year ago, to less than the full-year 8.1% expansion.

Governments have pledged to try to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels. Leaders say what they really want is a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Scientists say that even if the world achieves the two-tier target in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the 2021 Glasgow Follow-up Agreement, it could still result in high seas, strong storms, flora and fauna. More people will die from extinction and heat, smog and infectious diseases.

China is the top producer and consumer of coal. Global trends depend on Beijing's actions.

The Communist Party has rejected the promise of a mandatory expulsion, citing its economic development needs. Beijing has refrained from joining governments that have promised to phase out coal-fired power.

In his 2020 speech at the United Nations, Xi said carbon emissions would reach their peak by 2030, but did not set a target for that amount. Xi said China's goal is to eliminate carbon neutrality by 2060, or by planting trees and other tactics, as much as it emits from industry and households.

According to the World Resources Institute, China accounts for 26.1% of global emissions, more than double the US 12.8%. Rhodium Group, a research firm, says China emits more than any other developed economy.

According to the WRI, per capita, 1.4 billion people in China emit an average of 8.4 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That's less than half the US average of 17.7 tonnes, but more than the EU's 7.5 tonnes.

China has an abundant supply of coal and produced more than 90% of the 4.4 billion tonnes burned last year. More than half of it is imported oil and gas, and leaders see it as a strategic threat.

Claire Perry of the Environmental Research Agency said in an email that China's goal of carbon neutrality is on track by 2060, but the use of more coal could "endanger it, or at least slow it down and make it more It can be expensive. "

Perry said promoting coal would push emissions "more than necessary" by the peak of 2030.

"This move is completely against science," he said.

Beijing has spent tens of billions of dollars building solar and wind farms to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas and to clean up smog-hit cities. In 2020, China will account for half of global investment in wind and solar energy.

Nevertheless, coal is expected to supply 60% of its electricity in the near future.

Beijing is cutting millions of jobs to shrink its booming state-owned coal mining industry, but production and consumption are still rising.

Officials say they are reducing carbon emissions per unit of economic output. The government reported a decrease of 3.8% last year, which is better than 1% in 2020 but less than 5.1% in 2017.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, overall energy consumption last year increased by 5.2% compared to 2020, following the resumption of global demand for Chinese exports.

Stimulus costs could also increase carbon production if it pays to build more bridges, train stations and other public works. This will encourage the production of carbon-rich steel and cement.

Greenpeace's Li said China's coal-fired power plants operate at an average of half their capacity, but further construction creates jobs and economic activity. "Even if electricity is no longer needed, local leaders are under pressure to pay for themselves," he said.

"This puts China on a more carbon footprint," Li said. "It's very difficult to fix."