International: China
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.
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).
'They’re gone:' End of an era as Liddell coal plant chimneys demolished in spectacular explosion
Tue 2 Jun 2026
It was quiet. Very quiet. Everyone stood or sat still, and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle lapping of the water on the shores of Lake Liddell.
Appeals Court affirms dismissal of youth climate case against Trump
Fri 5 Jun 2026
The lead attorney for the 22 plaintiffs said the court has “slammed the courthouse doors on children fighting for their lives.”
EU wants households to cut peak time energy use as demand from industry and AI soars
Fri 5 Jun 2026
A new law will aim to use artificial intelligence to boost efficient use of power as electricity demand threatens to overwhelm Europe’s grids.
Britain sets 87% emissions reduction target by 2040
Thu 4 Jun 2026
Britain on Tuesday set a target to cut emissions by around 87% by 2040 from 1990 levels as it increases efforts to meet net zero goals that it says will help to curb energy costs and create jobs, but it has yet to outline how the goal will be met.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
Heat is a growing threat to the Hajj – even in spring
Thu 4 Jun 2026
Temperatures during the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia are rising as climate change accelerates, according to a growing body of research.
Coral reefs in French Polynesia are stuck between life and death
Wed 3 Jun 2026
Scientists’ discovery of hollowed coral skeletons after a 2019 bleaching event reveals a reef that isn’t coming back.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
29 May 2026
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
UN backs historic climate crisis ruling, despite US attempts to stop resolution
22 May 2026
The UN has voted 141-8 to adopt a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, with the US – which is the world’s biggest historical emitter – among the small group opposing it.
