China ramped up coal power capacity last year, according to new analysis, despite a pledge to 'strictly control' the dirtiest fossil fuel. The country added 47.4 Gigawatts of new coal power in 2023, more than double the amount added by the rest of the world combined. It raises concerns that gains in clean power, including by China, are being undermined by the persistent use of coal, the worst energy form for climate change and air pollution.
But the new coal plants do 'not necessarily mean that China is going to increase an equivalent scale of CO2 emissions,' said Qi Qin, China analyst for Research on Energy and Clean Air, who also wrote the report. That's because China is 'increasing its renewable power capacities by scale too', she said. China has recently built more solar power than the rest of the world combined, and is on track to meet a 2030 clean power goal five years early.