Suche
China relies on coal: record expansion despite climate goals!
China will install the largest amount of coal-fired power in nearly a decade in 2025, despite advances in renewable energy.
China relies on coal: record expansion despite climate goals!
In the first six months of 2025, China experienced a real boom in coal power. Loud Rhine Palatinate With the commissioning of power plants with a total capacity of 21 gigawatts, the highest number of new coal-fired power plants in nine years went online. Even more impressive is the forecast that over 80 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants will be added by the end of the year. China's impressive expansion in the coal sector clearly shows that this remains an important part of the energy system.
Although the Chinese government is pushing ahead with clean energy efforts, coal remains the most important source of energy. In 2022, 60 percent of electricity generation came from coal, despite the impressive expansion of renewable energy. Loud daily news China now supplies more solar systems than the rest of the world combined. This determination is also reflected in the large solar project in Inner Mongolia, which, with a capacity of nine gigawatts, has the potential to make a significant contribution to energy supply.
Climate goals and coal expansion
In parallel to coal expansion, China is aiming to become climate neutral by 2060. At least the strategy envisages reducing CO2 emissions by 2030. This is also the reason why the Chinese government has turned to coal again in times of energy shortages in recent years. Extreme weather events and the associated bottlenecks made it necessary to temporarily rethink the dependence on renewable energies. However, this renewed focus on coal power is viewed critically by environmentalists who see coal use as a temporary solution that needs to be reconsidered.
The approval of new coal power projects shows that the trend towards coal is far from over. In the first half of 2025, Beijing approved new projects with a total output of 25 gigawatts. The influx of 75 gigawatts of new and revived applications speaks volumes about China's commitment to coal, and analysts suggest that promoters will want to take advantage of the opportunity by 2030 to implement their plans.
Raw material dependence and effects
As the Global Energy Monitor reported, there was already a decline in permits for coal-fired power plants in the first half of 2024. This contrasts with the sharp increase observed in 2022. Even if CO2 emissions were reduced by one percent in the first half of 2025, the expansion of coal is still controversial as a waste of investment in energy production.
The combination of a robust growth market for clean energy and continued dependence on coal presents China with the challenge of finding the balance between energy security and climate goals. Experts believe that more realistic thinking about coal sustainability and a focus on cleaner energy sources in the coming years will be crucial to meeting ambitious climate goals. China therefore remains a central player in the global fight against climate change, even if the path there is marked by many challenges.