International: China
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.
China’s summer of climate destruction
1 Sep 2023
China's summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods.
China has perfectly tangled the battery value chain with electric vehicles - a combo the US and Europe will find hard to beat
22 Aug 2023
Batteries are the single most valuable part of an electric vehicle (EV), representing 30–45% of the cost for light duty vehicles and ~50% for heavy duty.
China’s two climate directions
18 Aug 2023
While the U.S. and Europe have enacted sweeping policies to fight climate change in recent years, China has always had the potential to undermine those successes.
How China is using nuclear power to reduce its carbon emissions
16 Aug 2023
China recently approved the construction of six more nuclear reactors, cementing its status as the world’s fastest-growing nuclear power producer.
China avoids climate change discussion despite extreme weather
14 Aug 2023
Record heat and historic floods in China this summer have failed to ignite domestic public debate about how the world's top carbon polluter can mitigate climate change, leaving campaigners frustrated at an opportunity missed.
China: Typhoon Doksuri floods Beijing, thousands evacuated
1 Aug 2023
Authorities have issued the highest weather alert as Beijing is hit with the remnants of typhoon Doksuri.
Is China’s surge in coal consumption just a passing phase?
31 Jul 2023
China’s increase in coal use is inflicting damage on its green credentials, given its progress in developing renewable energy.
Carbon pricing to affect investments, survey claims
18 Jul 2023
The trading of carbon emission allowances in China is expected to increasingly affect investment decisions as the carbon price rises steadily, according to the 2022 China Carbon Pricing Survey report.
China power plants beef up production amid surging electricity demand
13 Jul 2023
Power plants have ramped up efforts to secure electricity supply, including increasing output at coal-fired power plants, in response to the surging demand due to a prolonged heat wave.
China is pumping out carbon emissions as if COVID never happened.
10 Jul 2023
Carbon emissions from China are growing faster now than before COVID-19 struck, dashing hopes the pandemic may have put the world’s most polluting nation on a new emissions trajectory.
Energy security: China doubles down on renewables and coal
3 Jul 2023
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupting fossil fuel supplies and prices, global attention to energy security has heightened.
China’s solar is now at twice the capacity of its coal power – report
30 Jun 2023
Solar is growing at 33.7% year-on-year and is now at twice the capacity of coal power in China, according to a new report.
China study: clean energy switch could save thousands of lives, earn billions of dollars
27 Jun 2023
Industrial parks in China could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% and avoid tens of thousands of premature deaths if they switched to clean energy earlier than a 2030 baseline scenario, a study has found.
Despite billions, China’s state-run agribusiness company still turns to deforesters
23 Jun 2023
Cofco is a state-run Chinese company with a mission of importing enough food to feed the country’s 1.4 billion people.
Chinese cities break heat records, stressing electricity grid
20 Jun 2023
Several cities in northern China broke heat records for June this week, with soaring temperatures straining the country's electricity supplies and leading authorities to hold mock emergency drills.
China carbon goals, green transition within reach
15 Jun 2023
China is capable of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions ahead of schedule while further accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon energy structure, as the country's non-fossil fuel energy sources have exceeded 50 percent of its total installed electricity generation capacity, industry experts said.
Confusion surrounds China’s pledged climate finance towards the Global South
8 Jun 2023
The delivery of a multi-billion climate fund pledged by China nearly eight years ago to support the Global South remains “unclear”, experts have told Climate Home News.
German climate envoy urges China to look beyond coal for energy-secure future
9 May 2023
China needs to seek alternative solutions to ensure its energy security, rather than relying on building new coal-fired power plants, according to Germany’s climate envoy.
China to ship climate change aids to developing nations
13 Apr 2023
China will soon ship a series of aids to three developing nations to help beef up their capabilities to cope with climate change, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
China may meet solar, wind goals five years earlier
5 Apr 2023
China may reach its 2030 target for wind and solar energy development five years earlier than planned.
Biden’s landmark climate bill lures China’s clean energy giants
3 Apr 2023
China’s leading renewables firms are joining the rush to open factories in the U.S. after Washington passed a landmark climate bill that supports local clean energy manufacturing.
Legacy auto faces disaster in China with unsellable cars as pollution crunch looms
31 Mar 2023
We are currently witnessing a major disruption in the world’s largest car market, that will have massive implications for the biggest carmakers as they seek to manage the switch from fossil fuel vehicles to electric.
A warmer, wetter climate challenges a Chinese eco-farm
17 Mar 2023
In recent years, a new narrative has appeared on Chinese social media: that a warmer and wetter climate in Northwest China will herald a return to the “golden age” of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD).
Chinese rice farming trials cut methane emissions
13 Mar 2023
In a mountain village in south-west China, the local people are playing a guessing game. A new climate-friendly way of growing rice is being trialed here that will reduce methane emissions. So, what’s the difference in yield between it and the conventional method?
China urged to place ‘wellbeing’ above GDP amid climate threat
24 Feb 2023
A team of influential economists has urged China to adopt a new development model based on “wellbeing” rather than gross domestic product (GDP) growth to fulfil its 2060 net-zero emissions goals and head off the mounting threats of climate change.
China: What the world’s largest food system means for climate change
21 Feb 2023
In 2019, China’s giant food system produced 1.9bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent – around the same as the total annual emissions of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter.
World’s largest onshore wind turbine, and the first to reach 10MW, debuts in China
15 Feb 2023
Chinese wind energy company Envision Energy has reportedly debuted a new 10MW onshore wind turbine, the largest of its kind and boasting the world’s largest rotor diameter.
China’s rice farming trials cut methane emissions and increase yields
9 Feb 2023
In a mountain village in south-west China, the local people are playing a guessing game. A new climate-friendly way of growing rice is being trialled here that will reduce methane emissions. So, what’s the difference in yield between it and the conventional method?
How will EU’s ‘green tariff’ impact China’s carbon market?
7 Feb 2023
European Union (EU) negotiators agreed in December to charge a carbon border tax on certain imports into the bloc, beginning in 2026.
China fast-tracking renewable energy
31 Jan 2023
China’s solar and wind power generating capacities are the largest in the world, accounting for more than 35% of the global total. As demand continues to grow to meet its climate goals, the need for storage facilities has also become critical to ensure a ready and consistent supply.
Climate-based tariffs by US, EU on Chinese steel and aluminium would ‘set a concerning precedent for China’
13 Dec 2022
The imposition of climate-based tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium – reportedly being considered by the United States and European Union – would set a concerning precedent for China, but the overall impact on those sectors should be limited, according to analysts.
China, covid and climate
1 Dec 2022
The protests erupting across China deserve international solidarity. The future of the planet could be determined by their success - or failure.
Should China be let off the hook for climate finance?
30 Nov 2022
The most important outcome of COP27, the climate summit in Egypt earlier this month, was the creation of a new UN-administered fund to compensate developing countries for the costs they incur from climate change-related disasters.
Hong Kong exchange carries out first carbon credit trades
25 Nov 2022
The Hong Kong stock exchange has carried out the first batch of carbon credit trades on its new voluntary carbon market, joining a handful of Asian exchanges in tapping opportunities resulting from governments' push to achieve climate goals.
The world's biggest source of clean energy is evaporating fast
27 Oct 2022
China’s Three Gorges Dam is an awe-inspiring sight, a vast barrier across the Yangtze River that contains enough concrete to fill seven Wembley Stadiums and more steel than eight Empire State Buildings. Its turbines could singlehandedly power the Philippines. But this summer, the world’s largest power plant was eerily quiet.
Our solar powered future is already China’s reality
6 Oct 2022
Atop the Tibetan plateau in Qinghai province, northern China, sits the Longyangxia Dam facility, a 27-square-kilometer solar farm that is filled with a sea of four million deep blue-colored photovoltaic panels.
China’s climate push could spawn new global players, even if Beijing falls short on its pledge
5 Oct 2022
Two years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping formally announced the world’s second largest economy would strive for peak carbon emissions in 2030, and carbon neutrality in 2060. These ambitions are spawning companies that could one day become global leaders in their fields.
China tells Europe to not backslide on climate commitments
23 Sep 2022
China has accused some European nations of a “backswing” in the implementation of urgent climate change goals as geopolitical turmoil grips the continent.
China droughts highlight energy challenge as climate heats up
8 Sep 2022
Hotter weather is expected to push China's enormous energy consumption even higher in the coming years.
Labor accused of ‘gaslighting’ Australians on climate crisis as fossil fuel projects keep getting approved
9 Jun 2025
‘They offer sympathy and then just go and approve massive fossil fuel projects anyway,’ one advocate says.
EPA to propose rolling back climate rule for power plants Wednesday
Thu 12 Jun 2025
It marks an escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to purge climate initiatives from the federal government.
Ocean current ‘collapse’ could trigger ‘profound cooling’ in northern Europe – even with global warming
Fri 13 Jun 2025
A “collapse” of key Atlantic ocean currents would cause winter temperatures to plunge across northern Europe, overriding the warming driven by human activity.
Oil giant funds computer game that promotes fossil fuels to schoolchildren
9 Jun 2025
Equinor, the company looking to develop the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, has funded a computer game aimed at UK school children, promoting the idea that fossil fuels are part of a green energy mix.
'This is classic climate change': Canada's Saskatchewan faces worst wildfire season in decades
4 Jun 2025
There have been 207 wildfires this year as of Friday – 40 more than in the same period last year.
Carbon capture projects promise a climate fix – and a fossil fuel lifeline
Wed 11 Jun 2025
Governments across Southeast Asia are looking at carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way to meet climate targets.
Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making COP31 bid
4 Jun 2025
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the COP31 summit with Pacific nations.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Death toll from Nigeria flash floods rises to 151
3 Jun 2025
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.
Pará’s Amazon forest carbon deal in doubt as prosecutors move to block it
Fri 13 Jun 2025
The Brazilian state’s contract with foreign governments and companies has run into trouble over concerns it was premature and agreed without consulting Indigenous communities.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
Fri 13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
