European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said in Beijing on Monday he was convinced “China is willing to go in the right direction” when it comes to climate action but appeared baffled as to just how the same country can also lead the world in building coal-fired power plants.
“But at the same time, it’s also true that… more coal-fired power plants are opened,” Timmermans said in a speech at Tsinghua University as reported by AFP.
“And that seems to be in contradiction.”
China is the biggest producer of polluting gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and its emissions pledges are seen as essential to U.N. monitors to help keep global temperatures stable.
However, despite being the world’s greatest polluter, China relied on coal for nearly 60 percent of its electricity last year – and that figure looks sure to grow in coming years.
China has approved a major surge in coal power so far for 2023, prioritising energy supply over its pledge to reduce emissions from fossil fuels, as Breitbart News reported.
The jump in approvals for coal-fired power plants has added to concerns that China will backtrack on its goals to peak emissions between 2026 and 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060.
It also continues a trend of China ignoring green renewable alternatives such as wind, solar, and hydro while simply building more coal power stations as the rest of the world tries to seek alternatives.
All the European nations have pledged to turn away from coal, oil and nuclear power generation to embrace “green” alternatives as they look to a zero emissions future.
The U.S. is also looking to dump coal and oil fired energy production under President Joe Biden.
Biden promised during the presidential debates in 2020 that, under his administration, the country will not build any more coal or oil plants, as Breitbart News reported.
“Nobody’s going to build another coal-fired plant in America. No one’s going to build another oil-fired power plant in America. They’re going to move to renewable energy,” the future president vowed.
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Beijing has repeatedly urged developed nations in recent years to honor their climate finance pledges.
China has rejected the idea that it should no longer be considered a developing country, even though it is now the world’s second-biggest economy.
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