{"id":134837,"date":"2025-09-11T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/134837\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T09:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:00:15","slug":"china-on-course-to-peak-fossil-fuel-power-as-soon-as-this-year-reports-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/134837\/","title":{"rendered":"China on course to peak fossil fuel power as soon as this year, reports say"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s fossil fuel use in the energy sector could soon peak, together with related emissions as clean power surges and electrification spreads across the country, two separate reports said on Tuesday, suggesting it may be reaching a turning point keenly awaited by climate analysts.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s energy transition is entering a new phase where renewables are starting to drive down demand for fossil fuels rather than simply creating additional capacity, think-tank Ember said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Electricity generated from clean energy sources, including nuclear, outstripped demand growth in the first half of 2025, cutting fossil fuel use by 2% compared to the same period last year, Ember\u2019s analysis showed.<\/p>\n

While coal remains the primary source in the country\u2019s electricity mix, the data raises the prospect that its use in the power sector could soon peak and begin falling. As China is the largest fossil fuel consumer and the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, a long-term shift would give a major boost to efforts to limit global warming.<\/p>\n

Muyi Yang, a senior analyst at Ember, said China is no longer just stacking renewables on top of fossil fuels. \u201cFossil fuel use in power generation and end-use sectors is nearing a plateau,\u201d he added in a written statement. \u201cWhat once seemed like mere additions now looks like the take-off point for real transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coal tension<\/p>\n

A separate analysis by Greenpeace East Asia predicted that China\u2019s coal power generation and total emissions from its energy sector could peak as soon as this year under an \u201cambitious\u201d scenario that sees an accelerated use of non-fossil sources.<\/p>\n

Gao Yuhe, Greenpeace East Asia\u2019s climate and energy project manager, said Beijing has a \u201ccritical window\u201d to reshape its power system. China must accelerate the integration of renewable energy as the \u201cmainstay of the power system\u201d and stop relying on coal power, she added.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s growing spending on the rollout of solar and wind energy has vastly outstripped any other country over recent years. But investment in new coal infrastructure has also continued apace, raising concerns over China\u2019s ability to curb emissions and meet climate targets.<\/p>\n

China commissioned 21 gigawatts (GW) of coal power plant capacity in the first half of 2025, the highest amount for the period since 2016, according to a recent analysis<\/a> by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Beyond the energy sector, the use of coal as a raw material to produce liquid fuels and chemicals \u2013 including plastics \u2013 is also soaring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coal phase-down timeline needed<\/p>\n

President Xi Jinping has committed to phasing down coal use<\/a> from 2026, while keeping China\u2019s coal power stations primarily as a backup for clean energy. But experts say a wide range of incentives are still supporting new investments.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace\u2019s Gao said Beijing should draft a clear timetable for phasing out coal power, as \u201cevery new coal approval will limit the space for renewables\u201d.<\/p>\n

The different reports point to a contradiction with China doubling down on new coal power approvals at the same time as coal use in its power generation falls to record low.<\/p>\n


\nLarge machinery works at the steel-structure cooling tower construction site of the 1,000 MW coal-fired unit expansion project of Gansu Power Plant in Zhangye city, Gansu province, China, March 6, 2024. (Photo: CFOTO\/Sipa USA\/via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n


\nLarge machinery works at the steel-structure cooling tower construction site of the 1,000 MW coal-fired unit expansion project of Gansu Power Plant in Zhangye city, Gansu province, China, March 6, 2024. (Photo: CFOTO\/Sipa USA\/via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n

Ember\u2019s analysis showed China\u2019s push towards a peak in fossil fuel use is also being helped by the rising electrification of transport, heating and industrial production, which have historically depended on the direct use of coal and oil-derived products.<\/p>\n

The think-tank believes China\u2019s deployment of a new model based on growing clean energy and end-use electrification could reshape the economics of energy across the world and prompt other countries to follow suit.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s model exported overseas<\/p>\n

China would stand to benefit directly from such a transformation given its dominant position in the global supply chains of clean energy technologies, electric vehicles and critical minerals.<\/p>\n

Energy was among the focus areas of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last week, when President Xi hosted 20 leaders of non-Western countries, including India\u2019s Narendra Modi and Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

The forum closed with an open-ended commitment for China to \u201cjointly develop\u201d 10 gigawatts (GW) of wind and 10 GW of solar power overseas during the next five years.<\/p>\n

At climate summit, African leaders call for a bigger role in energy transition<\/a><\/p>\n

Li Yuxiao, a project lead for Greenpeace East Asia, said significant barriers will need to be removed for that commitment to be delivered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverseas wind and solar investment is a major headache for Chinese investors, and the system is not as well-worked for these types of projects as it once was for coal and remains for other fossil fuels,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Ineffective financing tools, limited insurance guarantees and lengthy approval processes are cited among the hurdles project developers are still facing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China\u2019s fossil fuel use in the energy sector could soon peak, together with related emissions as clean power…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-134837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}