According to Bloomberg, Chinese energy officials on Thursday dashed hopes that the country's carbon dioxide emissions had already peaked, following reports in July that the country would stop growing its emissions after this year.
China's carbon dioxide emissions were reported to be roughly flat in July. Tracking China's carbon dioxide emissions are expected to fall or plateau annually this year following data suggesting reduced coal use and increased green energy production. But Song Wen, head of legal and institutional reform at China's National Energy Administration, downplayed the rumors on Thursday, adding that “tremendous efforts” will be needed to meet China's original carbon emissions target of peaking by 2030, Bloomberg reported. Reported.
“We must remember that China is still a developing country, with a huge population and undergoing modernization,” Wen told Bloomberg during a press conference on Thursday. “We still need to make huge efforts to achieve our peak carbon and carbon neutral goals.”
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Wen Jiabao's comments and the increase in coal production came a week before President Joe Biden's climate change adviser, John Podesta, is scheduled to meet with China's top energy official, Liu Zhenmin, to discuss environmental cooperation efforts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, not just carbon dioxide but also methane and nitrogen oxides, both of which are linked to burning coal.
China approved an average of two coal-fired power plants per week last year, and will account for two-thirds of the world's new coal-fired power plants in 2023. According to The New York Times and study From the Energy and Clean Air Research Center. As of February 2023, the country accounts for roughly half of the world's coal production and consumption.
“Given China's dominance when it comes to coal, what happens there will determine global trends,” Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told The New York Times in April.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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