International: China
China warming faster than global average as extreme weather intensifies, report says
6 Jul 2026
China is warming faster than the global average, while extreme heat, heavy rainfall and other severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as climate change accelerates worldwide.
China's coal power on the rise again in 2026, reversing first-in-a-decade decline
25 Jun 2026
China's coal-fired power generation is set to rebound this year from its first fall in a decade, analysts said, due to the impact of El Nino and the Iran war and as renewable sources of energy have failed to keep pace with demand.
China to raise power prices for energy-intensive sectors in green transition push
19 Jun 2026
Beijing’s latest road map aims to cut carbon emissions by 200 million tonnes by 2028 – but analysts say implementation may vary across regions.
China's fossil-fuelled power extends rise in May on weak wind output
18 Jun 2026
China's fossil-fuelled power generation, mostly from coal but with a small amount from natural gas, rose 2.1% in May from a year earlier, statistics bureau data showed on Tuesday, as lower wind speeds curbed renewable energy growth.
China warns of risk of 'extreme floods' in desert regions
15 Jun 2026
China warned communities in its northwestern Xinjiang and nearby regions on Friday to prepare for "extreme floods" this summer, driven by abnormally high temperatures, heavy rainfall, and rapid glacier melt.
China's green-energy drive will shift up a gear
11 Jun 2026
A pessimistic interpretation is that the greenification of the world's second-largest economy will always be stop-start. Yet that's wrong. China has both the means and the motive to drastically speed up its decarbonisation drive.
Why China's critical minerals strategy leaves the US behind
8 Jun 2026
The United States cannot realistically recreate that dominance overnight even if the political will existed.
China’s CO2 climbs 2% in early 2026 due to ‘wasted’ wind and solar
5 Jun 2026
The country used more coal and gas to generate electricity than in the same quarter a year earlier, despite a record amount of new wind and solar capacity being built.
China seen tapping deeper into oil stockpiles as imports hit decade-low
4 Jun 2026
China is expected to tap deeper into its record crude oil inventories as refiners cut imports further while maintaining output curbs to minimise refining losses amid weak fuel demand, analysts and industry officials said.
Waves with world's first wind power undersea data center
4 Jun 2026
China has begun operations of the world's first undersea data center directly powered by offshore wind, as the country races to solve the soaring energy demands of artificial intelligence with greener and more efficient infrastructure.
Can China turn hydrogen into its next clean-energy industry?
29 May 2026
China has said that hydrogen is a key “future industry”, important to both its energy transition and its industrial policy.
China’s new carbon metric leaves Germany-sized gap in its emissions
27 May 2026
A major change in the way that China measures its core climate goal has effectively halved the growth in the country’s carbon dioxide emissions over the past five years.
At least 21 killed as heavy rains drench southern, central China
21 May 2026
Torrential rain continued across southern and central China on Tuesday with at least 21 people killed in widespread flooding that also closed schools and businesses, and disrupted transport and power supplies, authorities said.
China widens its clean energy lead
18 May 2026
Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
The Iran war has the world buying more clean energy. China stands to benefit the most
28 Apr 2026
The war in Iran has sent oil-starved countries scrambling for fuel. Many are opting for energy alternatives — and turning to the renewables king of the planet: China.
China warns strong El Nino this year may worsen global fossil fuel crisis
22 Apr 2026
This year’s El Nino could increase the global demand for fossil fuels and worsen the price rises caused by the Iran crisis, Chinese government scientists have said.
China's climate envoy warns of energy security risks, urges renewables shift
15 Apr 2026
The ongoing global energy crisis has highlighted the risks of heavy dependence on fossil fuel imports, prompting an urgent need for countries to rethink their energy security strategies and accelerate the transition to renewable energy, Liu Zhenmin, China's climate envoy for climate change, has said recently.
China's Xi urges faster development of new energy system as Middle East war continues
8 Apr 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country's energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks.
China launches two probes into US trade practices
31 Mar 2026
China's commerce ministry has initiated two counter-probes into U.S. practices that hamper the flow of Chinese products into the United States, it said on Friday, refraining from immediate retaliation to U.S. measures announced earlier this month.
China tells oil refiners to suspend exports
20 Mar 2026
China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
China sets cautious climate target as carbon deadline looms
6 Mar 2026
China, the world’s top polluter, set a cautious new climate target for the rest of the decade, frustrating hopes for tighter policy that would accelerate the nation’s work to curb emissions.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
As Trump retreats from climate goals, China is becoming a green superpower
19 Feb 2026
How the world's biggest carbon emitter is now at the helm of a renewables revolution.
China starts sea trials for largest electric-powered container ship
17 Feb 2026
China’s first 10,000-ton electric containership is beginning sea trials. The shipyard is billing the ship as the largest of its kind and a further breakthrough in short-sea shipping.
China’s CO2 emissions have now been ‘flat or falling’ for 21 months
13 Feb 2026
China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of 2025, likely securing a decline of 0.3% for the full year as a whole.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
‘Rush’ for new coal in China hits record high in 2025 as climate deadline looms
4 Feb 2026
Proposals to build coal-fired plants in China reached a record high in 2025, finds a new study.
Beijing-Ottawa deal reinforces China’s dominance in EV industry at expense of US: analysts
26 Jan 2026
New agreement is set to significantly boost Chinese carmakers’ global expansion and offers easier entry into the North American EV market
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
10 years after Paris, China is shaping our climate future
15 Dec 2025
The seminal global climate agreement changed the world, just not in the way we thought it would.
China’s BEV trucks and the end of diesel’s dominance
4 Dec 2025
Cheap Chinese battery electric heavy trucks are no longer a rumor. They are real machines with real price tags that are so low that they force a reassessment of what the global freight industry is willing to pay for electrification.
China floods the world with gasoline cars it can't sell at home
3 Dec 2025
While Western nations focus on the competitive threat of Chinese EVs, a different challenge is reshaping the auto industry. Beijing's legacy automakers are saturating emerging and second-tier markets with fossil-fuel vehicles – often undercutting their foreign partners.
How China silences environmental reporters beyond its borders
1 Dec 2025
Journalists who report on the harms caused by China’s overseas infrastructure buildout in Africa face intimidation, surveillance and police pressure.
China's new coal plant permits set for four-year low in 2025, analysis finds
27 Nov 2025
China's new coal plant permits for 2025 are on track to fall to a four-year low, a new Greenpeace analysis showed on Tuesday, indicating that growing use of renewables is cutting into demand for new coal plants.
China’s diesel trucks are shifting to electric. That could change global LNG and diesel demand
21 Nov 2025
China is replacing its diesel trucks with electric models faster than expected, potentially reshaping global fuel demand and the future of heavy transport.
China’s top envoy blasts EU climate goals and Trump’s ‘bad example’
20 Nov 2025
The European Union’s new pollution-cutting targets are insufficient, China’s climate envoy told POLITICO on the sidelines of this year’s COP30 conference while also condemning the “bad example” set by the absent United States.
China’s carbon plateau: A turning point or a temporary pause?
19 Nov 2025
For a quarter century, China has been the dominant driver of rising global carbon emissions. Its rapid industrialisation, swelling electricity demand, and unprecedented construction boom have shaped the world’s carbon trajectory more than any other country.
Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions have now been flat or falling for 18 months
12 Nov 2025
China’s carbon dioxide emissions were unchanged from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, extending a flat or falling trend that started in March 2024.
Why climate change now threatens China’s future
4 Nov 2025
Extreme weather is hurting its economy and worrying its leaders.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
The Yangtze River is becoming the world’s largest electrified trade corridor
30 Oct 2025
The Gezhouba, a new 13,000-ton all-electric bulk carrier launched in Yichang, is more than a technical milestone. It is a sign that the electrification of inland shipping is moving from concept to inevitability.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
China carbon prices hit two-year low as market faces oversupply pressures
14 Oct 2025
Carbon credit prices in China have fallen to their lowest point since mid-2023, pressured by an excess of supply and tepid demand amid ongoing adjustments to the national emissions trading system.
China accelerates oil reserve site build amid stockpiling drive
9 Oct 2025
China is building oil reserve sites at a rapid clip as part of a campaign to boost crude stockpiles that increased in urgency after Russia's Ukraine invasion upended global energy flows and has accelerated this year.
China's 'Great Green Wall' brings hope but also hardship
6 Oct 2025
China’s campaign to contain the expansion of deserts due to intensive farming, grazing, mining and climate change has increased available pastures, but also “erodes traditional farming practices and culture.”
China calls EU hypocritical over criticism of climate goal
1 Oct 2025
The EU climate chief's criticism of China's new climate pledges shows "double standards and selective blindness," China's foreign ministry said on Friday, accusing the bloc of being slow to act on its own climate targets.
What does China’s new Paris Agreement pledge mean for climate action?
29 Sep 2025
President Xi Jinping has personally pledged to cut China’s greenhouse gas emissions to 7-10% below peak levels by 2035, while “striving to do better”.
“It’s by stealth, isn’t it?” The multi-million dollar effort by Australian fossil fuel companies to get into schools
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Australian oil, gas and coal companies want to get into school to shape what kids learn about their industry and climate change. One group has been trying to map the scale of the problem.
Over 1,600 energy department webpages on utility bill savings removed as US temperatures soar
Fri 17 Jul 2026
As millions of Americans prepare for another brutal heatwave, it’s now harder to find information about ways to stay cool while saving energy and keeping utility costs down.
1,000 evacuated from Fontainebleau fires near Paris; Spanish authorities identify some fire victims
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Bigger fires have been ravaging areas of southern France, but the Fontainebleau fire is exceptionally close to the densely populated region surrounding the French capital.
UK withdraws millions in funding from world’s second-largest rainforest in Congo
Fri 17 Jul 2026
The UK has abandoned projects worth tens of millions of pounds that were meant to help protect Congo rainforests and support local people.
Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Toronto, threatens US cities
Fri 17 Jul 2026
Toronto's air quality ranked the worst among major cities globally on Wednesday as wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario blackened skies and spread into the northeastern United States, prompting health warnings and calls for residents to limit outdoor activities.
India is adding biofuels to petrol – but many drivers are unhappy
Thu 16 Jul 2026
India's decision to increase the share of biofuels blended with petrol is facing ire from motorists who question its viability in a market where a majority of vehicles are not yet designed for it.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Africa secures $900 million in new clean cooking commitments
Mon 13 Jul 2026
African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, said the International Energy Agency.
Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade
Tue 14 Jul 2026
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has fallen to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2026, according to official government figures.
COP31 president says electrification is ‘surest way to protect citizens’
Tue 14 Jul 2026
Last month, COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum launched a target for 35% of the world’s final energy to come from electricity by 2035. In an interview with Carbon Brief, Kurum says that the target was not a political choice, but instead reflects the latest evidence on “what is needed to keep 1.5C within reach”.
