Greenpeace East Asia published a report on Monday that found China’s most affluent cities and provinces are dramatically increasing their investments in fossil fuel projects, leaving climate activists flummoxed over China’s refusal to deliver on its “energy transition” promises.
“The increasing investment in fossil gas, despite China’s overall decrease in coal investment and the country’s net zero strategies, indicates that top provinces should lead the way in the national energy transition – but at this point, it seems that low-carbon policies are not encouraging a full swing energy transition in Guangdong,” Qiu Chengcheng of Greenpeace East Asia complained to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Guangdong boasts China’s largest provincial economy and it has invested over $56 billion in fossil fuel projects this year, a 21.8-percent increase from 2020. Other wealthy Chinese provinces posted fossil fuel development increases of between five and 20 percent.
Greenpeace Asia gave Guangdong some credit for ostensibly banning new coal-fired power plants but lamented investment shifting to almost one hundred gas power projects around the province.
“In the power sector, there is a perceived need for more backup power that can be used during demand spikes, such as those occurring now due to heat waves and increased use of air conditioning,” explained analyst Lauri Myllyvirta of the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Myllyvirta was more pessimistic than some other climate activists who saw China’s surge of gas production as a stepping stone toward decarbonization. Myllyvirta said gas power is a “dead end” because it “cannot be made pollution- or carbon-free.”
Another analyst, Lucas Zhang Liutong of Hong Kong’s WaterRock Energy Economics, added that “renewable power supplies are insufficient to meet power demand during peak season,” so China is turning to gas during the current wave of high temperatures and power shortages.
China’s Sichuan province on Sunday warned of “particularly severe” power shortages, possibly lasting until Thursday, the first chance weather forecasts are giving for enough rain to cool the province and replenish water for its hydropower industry.
Sichuan has also been under a red heatwave alert for the past ten days, the highest level of China’s temperature alert system. Some locations in eastern Sichuan have reported daytime temperatures surpassing 104 degrees.
China implemented a four-level warning system for power shortages this year, and “particularly severe” is the highest level of alert. Sichuan has already shut down its factories and implemented power rationing measures. Power demand surged by 25 percent over the summer at the same time hydropower production fell by over 50 percent.
Sichuan officials said over the weekend that power rationing would be extended for another week, keeping factories shuttered in the vital manufacturing hub. Foreign companies, such as Japanese automaker Toyota, have been affected by the shutdown orders.
“The power shortage adds another challenge to companies already contending with the country’s adherence to Covid Zero, which includes sudden lockdowns, constant testing and movement curbs. That has weighed on consumer sentiment and wrought havoc on the manufacturing sector,” Bloomberg News observed on Sunday.
Shanghai, China’s richest city, responded to the heatwave and power shortages on Monday by announcing it would switch off most of its famous decorative lights.
China’s central bank on Monday announced a 0.15-percent reduction in five-year interest rates and a 0.05-percent reduction in the one-year rate, an effort to bring relief to industries hit by the power cuts and coronavirus lockdowns, particularly real estate and construction.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.