“China’s GDP grew while other major economies shrank”
“China made headlines as the only major economy to avoid an economic contraction in 2020. As was the case during the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, China’s investment-led approach allowed it to weather the immediate crisis, with a focus on heavy industry and property construction. As a result, China’s economy grew an estimated 2.1% in 2020....As China focused its stimulus response on fossil-intensive industries, its emissions increased accordingly.”…”Preliminary 2020 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimates for China,” rhg.com, Rhodium Group
Above chart: China coal consumption continues to rise, IEA, Coal consumption by region, 2000-2021, IEA.org, China top line, “Advanced economies,” bottom line. Coal use in United States fell 20% in 2020.
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Added: IEA: Through 2020, China coal consumption continues to rise, whereas coal use in “Advanced countries” is almost non-existent by comparison:
Chart: Source, IEA, UK Guardian graph…4/20/21, “Carbon emissions to soar in 2021 by second highest rate in history,” UK Guardian
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Added: China also led in 2019 emissions, per Rhodium Group:
Above chart: China led world in 2019 emissions, Rhodium Group:
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Added: China says it must rely on coal because it prioritizes economic growth:
4/29/21, “China has ‘no other choice’ but to rely on coal power for now, official says,” CNBC, Evelyn Chang, Beijing
“Policymakers are making clear that economic growth remains a priority–and that growth depends largely on coal power.
*“Because renewable energy (sources such as) wind and solar power are intermittent and unstable, we must rely on a stable power source,” said Su Wei, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Development and Reform Commission. “We have no other choice. For a period of time, we may need to use coal power as a point of flexible adjustment.”…
“Policymakers are making clear that economic growth remains a top priority — and that growth depends largely on coal power. Beijing has a GDP target of 6% this year, a level which analysts say would allow authorities to tackle long-term problems such as the country’s high debt levels.
“China’s energy structure is dominated by coal power. This is an objective reality,” said Su Wei, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission. CNBC translated his Mandarin-language comments, which he made late last week following Xi’s separate remarks at a U.S.-led global leaders climate summit.
“Because renewable energy (sources such as) wind and solar power are intermittent and unstable, we must rely on a stable power source,” Su said. “We have no other choice. For a period of time, we may need to use coal power as a point of flexible adjustment.”
He added that coal is readily available, while renewable energy needs to develop further in China.
Funding coal power outside China
Separately, on Tuesday, when asked by CNBC whether Beijing might follow South Korea in its pledge to stop public financing of coal-powered plants overseas, China’s ecology ministry indicated that China’s funding of coal power in the developing world will continue.
“China has supported some developing countries in the construction of coal-fired plants overseas,” Li Gao, director general of the ministry’s department of climate change, told reporters in Mandarin that CNBC translated. “China provides this support according to the local situation.”
“Many developing countries don’t even have electricity,” he said. “In this situation, if you don’t use coal, what will you use?”
According to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China together funded $474 million worth of coal-sector projects outside China in 2020 alone.
The same report indicated that China’s financing of energy projects beyond its borders has declined steadily since 2016, however.
Li said that coal accounted for 56.8% of China’s domestic energy generation in 2020, down from 72.4% 15 years ago. As of last year [2020], China was the world’s heaviest emitter of carbon dioxide, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists….
System ‘favors coal-fired generation’…
However, China is still increasing construction of coal-fired power plants. Analysis by U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor indicates that last year [2020], China built more than triple the amount of new coal power capacity as the rest of the world combined.
China is the world’s largest consumer of coal. Late last year, some parts of the country cited a shortage of coal in limiting local power usage, as demand for electricity soared. China’s electricity use rose 3.1% last year, according to official figures….
China Renaissance analysts…noted that falling renewable energy costs are not enough to incentivize a major industry shift.
“We believe the current system overwhelmingly favors coal-fired generation, partly because it is more stable and faces less variability of wind and solar power,” the report said.”…
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Added: “China’s net emissions last year [2020] also increased by roughly 1.7% even while emissions from almost all other countries declined during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Rhodium estimates.”….
May 6, 2021, “China’s greenhouse gas emissions exceed those of U.S. and developed countries combined, report says,” CNBC, Emma Newberger
*China’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 exceeded those of the U.S. and other developed nations combined, according to research published Thursday by Rhodium Group.
*China is now responsible for more than 27% of total global emissions. The U.S., the world’s second-highest emitter, accounts for 11% of the global total….
“China’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 exceeded those of the U.S. and the developed world combined, according to a report published Thursday by research and consulting firm Rhodium Group.
The country’s emissions more than tripled during the past three decades, the report added.
China is now responsible for more than 27% of total global emissions. The U.S., which is the world’s second-highest emitter, accounts for 11% of the global total. India is responsible for 6.6% of global emissions, edging out the 27 nations in the EU, which account for 6.4%, the report said….
However, Chinese officials have also emphasized that economic growth, which is still largely dependent on coal power, remains a priority.
And the nation is still increasing construction of coal-fired power plants.
For instance, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China together funded $474 million worth of coal projects outside China in 2020 alone. And coal accounted for more than half of China’s domestic energy generation last year [2020], according to Li Gao, director general of the Department of Climate Change at China’s Ecology Ministry.
China, which is home to more than 1.4 billion people, saw its emissions surpass 14 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2019, more than triple 1990 levels and a 25% increase over the past decade, the Rhodium report found. China’s per capita emissions in 2019 also reached 10.1 tons, nearly tripling over the past two decades.
China’s net emissions last year [2020] also increased by roughly 1.7% even while emissions from almost all other countries declined during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Rhodium estimates.
The Rhodium Group is a U.S. think tank that provides global emissions estimates and forecasts through the ClimateDeck, a partnership with Breakthrough Energy, an initiative founded by Bill Gates.”...
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Added: “Global Energy Review, 2021: Report extract-Coal,” IEA.org: “China is the only major economy where coal demand increased in 2020.”
“China is the only major economy where coal demand increased in 2020. Strong economic growth underpins electricity demand in 2021, while post-Covid stimulus measures support production of steel, cement and other coal-intensive industrial products. We expect coal demand to increase by more than 4% in 2021, keeping demand well above the 2014 peak and reaching the highest ever levels for China.
The Chinese coal power fleet (including combined heat and power, or CHP, plants) represent around one-third of global coal consumption. The future of both Chinese and global coal demand depends on the Chinese electricity system. Electricity demand growth remains closely linked to economic growth in China, with demand increasing on a one-to-one ratio with GDP….
In India, April 2020 marked the lowest point of coal consumption in many years as a significant economic slowdown in the second half of 2019 was followed by Covid lockdowns. The economic recovery since led to a continuous rebound of coal consumption, with a 6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2020. Higher coal demand was also driven by a decline in generation from hydro, following 2019’s exceptionally high output. Our estimate for India coal consumption assumes a strong economic rebound in 2021, pushing Indian GDP firmly above 2019 levels and driving up coal demand by almost 9% to 1.4% above 2019 levels.
In the United States, coal remains on a structural decline even though 2021 is projected to be the first growth year for consumption since 2013. Recovering electricity consumption and higher gas prices underpinned increased coal use in December 2020, the first monthly year-on-year increase since November 2018. Coal demand from the power sector is expected to rebound by 10% from the lows of 2020, though that still should not push coal demand above 2019 levels. Coal-fired electricity generation...has more than halved since 2010, with demand falling by one-third between 2018 and 2020.
In the European Union,…we expect coal demand to increase by only 4% in 2021, mostly pushed by the recovery of industrial consumption. This increase is a long way from reversing the 18% decline in demand in 2020.”…
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Added: Same coal headlines three years ago in 2018: 1/25/2018, “China’s Emissions: More Than U.S. Plus Europe, and Still Rising,” NY Times, Davos
Chart, 1/25/2018, “Burning More Coal: China’s emissions of climate-changing gases from burning fossil fuels, already greater than the United States and Europe combined, resumed their climb last year [2017] as heavy industry expanded in the country.” “Sources, China’s Bureau of Statistics, Rhodium Group, by NY Times.”…“China’s Emissions: More Than U.S. Plus Europe, and Still Rising," NY Times, Davos
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