International: China
China's BYD launches EV charging system it says works nearly as fast as a fill up
Wed 19 Mar 2025
China's energy and auto giant BYD has announced an ultra fast EV charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a fill up at the pumps.
China announces plans for major renewable projects to tackle climate change
6 Mar 2025
China said on Wednesday it would develop a package of major projects to tackle climate change as it moves to bring its carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060.
China plays key role on climate change, may be looked to for additional leadership, COP30 president says
5 Mar 2025
China has a very important role to play in tackling climate change and others may look to the Asian country for additional leadership in the field, COP30 President-Designate Andre Aranha Correa do Lago said on Thursday.
China missed key climate target last year
4 Mar 2025
China missed a key climate target in 2024 and emissions in the world's second-largest economy rose slightly as coal remained dominant despite record renewable additions, official data showed Friday.
China aims to eliminate severe air pollution this year
28 Feb 2025
China aims to effectively eliminate severe air pollution by the end of 2025, a senior environment official said, as authorities ramp up efforts in pollution control and emissions reduction in the "battle for blue skies."
China's clean energy investments nearing scale of global fossil investments
20 Feb 2025
China's clean energy investments in 2024 amounted to 6.8tn yuan ($940bn), nearing the scale of $1.12tn global investment in fossil fuels, according to a new analysis by UK-based Carbon Brief.
China's 2024 coal projects counter climate goals: report
14 Feb 2025
China last year began construction on projects with the greatest combined coal power capacity since 2015, jeopardising the country's goal to peak carbon emissions by 2030, according to a report published Thursday.
China imposes 15% tariffs on coal, LNG in response to Trump's tariffs
5 Feb 2025
China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect.
China to launch one-kilometre-wide solar farm into space
27 Jan 2025
Construction of a giant celestial solar farm is underway in China, with a scale comparable to creating a "Three Gorges Dam project above the Earth".
Top emitter China tells World Court that UN treaties cover states' climate obligations
6 Dec 2024
China told the top U.N. court on Tuesday that existing U.N. treaties should provide the basis for its advisory opinion on states' legal obligations to fight global warming and address the consequences of their historic contributions to it.
China’s CO2 emissions have peaked or will in 2025, say 44% of experts in survey
28 Nov 2024
Research reflects rising optimism about country’s green transition as it takes leading position on climate action.
China hopes US will continue climate change collaboration whoever wins election, official says
5 Nov 2024
China hopes the United States will be able to continue to cooperate with other countries on climate change, whatever the outcome of the presidential election next week, a senior government official said on Friday.
China's Q3 economic losses from natural calamities surge
25 Oct 2024
China's third-quarter economic losses due to natural disasters, from super typhoons to floods, more than doubled from the first six months of 2024, reaching $32.3 billion.
Four lessons from 30 years of US-China climate cooperation
24 Oct 2024
A look back reveals four crucial lessons for future engagement and global progress.
China’s accelerating green transition
27 Sep 2024
Two-thirds of all new solar and wind power projects are based in the country. But to wean industry off coal, Beijing needs to set up a real energy market.
How to convince Beijing of the case for stronger climate targets
12 Sep 2024
An ambitious NDC would boost China’s economy, win it recognition as a responsible global power – and keep its people safer from climate disasters.
China coal plant approvals plunge as green power grows: Study
28 Aug 2024
China approved the building of nine gigawatts of coal power generation in the first half of 2024, down by more than 80 per cent compared with a year earlier as the nation adds renewable energy capacity in record amounts.
China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts
22 Aug 2024
Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.
China reports record high flood incidents with frequent, heavy rainfall across north and south
21 Aug 2024
Since the start of this year's flood season, China's major rivers have experienced 25 significant flood events, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 1998.
Chinese battery industry faces consolidation wave
13 Aug 2024
Companies cancel investments and smaller players leave amid slowing EV sales, fierce competition and stricter regulations.
China plans new carbon emission controls as it aims for 2030 peak
7 Aug 2024
China will accelerate the development of a carbon emissions control system to help it achieve its goal of reaching a peak in the emissions of the climate-warming gases by 2030.
China records hottest month in recent history
5 Aug 2024
China had its hottest month in observed modern history in July, Chinese state media reported, mirroring record hot weather seen around the world last month.
Projects under construction in China have twice the capacity of the rest of the world’s renewable energy projects combined
23 Jul 2024
Renewable energy projects are rapidly expanding in China, so much so that the country has double the amount of renewable capacity under construction compared to all other countries combined.
Another year of heat and floods spurs China’s climate-change awakening
11 Jul 2024
Beijing has made adapting to extreme weather a policy priority, and weather officials issued an unusually direct warning about the intensifying heat and rainfall
China court rules in favour of climate activists in landmark case against coal plant
4 Jul 2024
A grassroots NGO’s lawsuit against polluters highlights the difficulties of pricing climate damages and the obstacles faced by the nation's climate litigation efforts.
China sets up new state body to drill deep for oil and gas reserves
3 Jul 2024
China is setting up a new entity that groups national oil producers and other state firms to search for ultra-deep oil and gas reserves, state energy group CNPC said.
China’s manufacturing pushed emissions sky high. What’s next?
23 May 2024
China is responsible for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and for 90% of the growth in CO2 emissions since 2015.
How China’s energy system can reach carbon neutrality before 2055
21 May 2024
China’s thinking around the energy transition shifted drastically in 2020 after president Xi Jinping pledged to reach carbon neutrality before 2060.
China climate chief says he’ll visit US to bolster key ties
2 May 2024
China’s new climate chief plans to visit the US in May for formal talks with his American counterpart.
Floods swamp southern China sparking extreme weather fears
24 Apr 2024
Floods swamped cities in southern China's densely populated Pearl River Delta following record-breaking rains, sparking worries about the region's defences against bigger deluges induced by extreme weather events.
Xi thinks China can slow climate change. What if he’s right?
22 Apr 2024
OPINION: At first glance, Xi Jinping seems to have lost the plot. China’s president appears to be smothering the entrepreneurial dynamism that allowed his country to crawl out of poverty and become the factory of the world.
China is producing too much stuff and the West is worried
10 Apr 2024
China's economy just can't shake off its COVID gloom, with GDP faltering and an imploded property market.
To help Chinese communities adapt to climate change, listen to them
8 Feb 2024
A survey in southern China’s Pearl River Delta, a region prone to flooding and storm surges, provides insights into climate adaptation strategies.
China vows to boost farm output, seed research in renewed food security, tech self-reliance push
5 Feb 2024
Annual rural policy blueprint from State Council vows to stabilise grain-planting area and focus on ‘significantly increasing per-unit yield’.
China's wind, solar capacity forecast to overtake coal in 2024
1 Feb 2024
The China Electricity Council in a yearly report said grid-connected wind and solar would make up around 40% of installed power generation capacity by the end of 2024, compared with coal's expected 37%.
China installed more solar panels last year than the US has in total
31 Jan 2024
China is the world leader in renewable energy, including 40 percent of the planet’s entire solar capacity, reported Rystad Energy. The United States comes in second place with 12 percent.
China’s green tech surge could turn global climate politics on its head
25 Jan 2024
Beijing’s industrial policy gives it an interest in forcing others to decarbonise more.
China engineers complete largest solar farm on Earth in UAE ahead of Cop28
27 Nov 2023
The 4 million panels in the desert outside Abu Dhabi will reduce carbon emissions by 2.4 million tonnes per year and power 200,000 households.
China rolls out product carbon footprint directive in bid to meet global standards
24 Nov 2023
State planner NDRC sets new policy to calculate, label carbon footprints for ‘key products’ as EU moves toward carbon border tax.
China’s emissions set to fall in 2024 after record growth in clean energy
14 Nov 2023
China’s carbon dioxide emissions are set to fall in 2024 and could be facing structural decline, due to record growth in the installation of new low-carbon energy sources.
China on alert for extreme winter weather as El Nino adds to global warming mix
13 Nov 2023
Each part of the country should prepare for its own combination of extreme weather risks this winter, the China Meteorological Administration said.
China unveils action plan to reduce methane emissions
10 Nov 2023
China published its long-awaited plan to tackle climate-warming methane on Tuesday, but included no firm targets for reducing those emissions - only goals for re-using them as fuel.
Amid tensions with US, China tightens controls over exports and imports of key commodities
10 Nov 2023
China has asked exporters to report transactions of strategically important rare earth metals and oxide products, as economic security remains high on the agenda for policymakers.
China to unveil new maritime cooperation initiative at belt and road summit
19 Oct 2023
‘Major plan’ will cover sustainable use of marine resources, biodiversity conservation and climate change, official says.
China tries to reduce geopolitical risks for EV supply chain
3 Oct 2023
As the political tension between China and the US continues, the Chinese government is enhancing the country's EV supply chain to avoid battery technology outflow and learn critical techniques from foreign companies.
China opposes ‘not realistic’ global fossil fuel phase-out
25 Sep 2023
China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua has said that a global fossil fuel phase-out is unrealistic, dampening hopes that such an aim could be agreed at the COP28 climate talks.
China gives EV sector billions of yuan in subsidies
25 Sep 2023
China's generosity to the electric vehicle sector when it comes to handing out subsidies has come under fresh scrutiny since the European commission announced an investigation into the matter.
China car sales grow in August, Tesla nearly doubles EV share
12 Sep 2023
China's passenger vehicle sales returned to growth in August year-on-year, as deeper discounts and tax breaks for environmentally friendly and electric vehicles boosted consumer sentiment even as economic growth remains weak.
At least 55 injured as Typhoon Saola makes landfall in China
5 Sep 2023
More than 50 people are injured and hundreds are seeking shelter after Typhoon Saola made landfall in China's Guangdong province early Saturday morning.
$800m pledge keeps Australia's green hydrogen dream alive
Fri 21 Mar 2025
The Albanese Labor government has pledged more than $800 million in production incentives to a green hydrogen development in remote Western Australia, defying mounting scepticism over the future of the country's green fuel industry.
Trump is tackling every 'emergency' except the important one: climate change
Fri 21 Mar 2025
To hear President Trump describe it, the U.S. is beset by emergencies. We allegedly have an energy emergency, a government waste emergency and a foreign trade emergency.
Germany’s €100bn climate funding
Today 10:45am
Germany’s parliament has voted to create a €500bn defence and infrastructure fund and relax “constitutionally-protected debt rules,” with “the last-minute backing of the Greens” in return for guarantees that €100bn of the funds destined for infrastructure would be allocated for climate and economic transformation investments.
UK: new national forest to see 20 million trees planted
Today 10:45am
Twenty million trees will be planted and 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres) of new woodland created in the west of England as part of a "national forest" drive, the government has announced.
Canada: Carney kills consumer carbon tax in first move as prime minister
Tue 18 Mar 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney wasted little time in removing a potent point of attack for the Conservatives in recent years: the consumer carbon tax.
India records severe heat weeks ahead of schedule
Today 10:45am
Severe heatwave conditions have begun sweeping across eastern and western India unusually early in the season, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in several regions.
Nauru sells citizenship to help fund relocations as sea levels rise
27 Feb 2025
A new 'golden passport' scheme aims to raise funds to relocate people inland as climate change raises sea levels.
Global sea ice levels just hit a new record low
10 Mar 2025
Sea ice cover in both the Antarctic and Arctic remained far below average throughout February as global average temperatures linger near record highs.
How much do rich nations owe Africa for climate damage?
27 Feb 2025
Wealthy nations owe African countries some 50 times more for climate damage than the debt Africa owes them, ActionAid report says.
Peruvian farmer goes head to head with German energy giant in landmark climate case
Wed 19 Mar 2025
A landmark climate lawsuit opens in a German court Monday, as a Peruvian farmer sues a German energy giant over the threat to his home from a mountain lake overflowing with glacier meltwater.
COP29 chief exec filmed promoting fossil fuel deals
11 Nov 2024
A senior official at COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.
