When mapping new coal power and steelmaking projects from 2021, CREA discovered that China is investing in more new projects than the rest of the world combined.
Construction was started on 33GW of new coal power plants in 2021, the most since 2016 and almost three times as much as the rest of the world put together. The body said that once completed and operational, these projects will emit as much CO2 annually as Florida, the third-highest emitter among US states.
After accounting for plant retirements, which slowed down from 2020, China’s coal power capacity continued to increase while the rest of the world’s continued to fall.
The coal power and steel sectors are China’s two largest emitters of CO2, and there is no sign of investment in coal-based capacity being scaled back yet, despite the country’s carbon neutrality targets.
“A complete shift of new investments into clean capacity is needed to put China on track to peak CO2 emissions and avoid a...