China's Climate Policy
How the world's largest emitter became the world's largest producer of clean energy -- and why both facts matter simultaneously.
The Carbon Paradox
China produces roughly 30% of global CO2 emissions -- more than the United States and European Union combined. It burns more coal than the rest of the world put together. As of 2023, China had over 1,100 GW of coal-fired power capacity, and despite climate pledges, it approved more new coal plants in 2022 than at any time in the previous seven years.
At the same time, China is the world's undisputed leader in clean energy. It manufactures roughly 80% of the world's solar panels, 60% of its wind turbines, and over 60% of its electric vehicles. In 2023 alone, China installed more solar capacity than the United States has installed in its entire history. China's investment in clean energy exceeded $890 billion in 2023 -- more than all other countries combined.
These two realities coexist because China's energy demand is immense and still growing. Renewables are being added on top of fossil fuels, not instead of them. The critical question is whether clean energy growth will eventually overtake rising demand and allow total emissions to peak and decline -- which China has pledged will happen before 2030.
