CHINA

China is the largest producer and consumer of coal and coal power in the world. It has by far the most coal-fired plants, with over half of the world's operating coal power capacity. Most of the country's coal power has been built in the past two decades. In 2015, the central government issued a policy for coal “decapacity,” signaling its potential to wind down the country’s growing coal use. However, by 2016, the country’s economy was beginning to slow, leading the central government to introduce a large stimulus spending package, with an emphasis on coal-intensive heavy industry and new coal plants. By 2017, China’s coal consumption and production were back on the rise.

In April 2021, President Xi announced at the Climate Leaders’ Summit that the country would “strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five Year Plan period and phase it down in the 15th Five Year Plan period" as part of the country's pledge to be peak CO2 emissions "well before" 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060.

In September 2021, President Xi announced that China would stop building new coal plants overseas at the United Nations General Assembly. China has also committed to being more engaged with energy transitions and sustainable development in other developing countries and shifting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) towards a low-carbon path. In recent years, China has deployed significant amounts of wind and solar energy with the stated goal of demoting coal power from a mainstay to a supportive role.

Despite Xi's peldges and the growth in solar and wind capacity, coal proposals, permits, and construction starts have been back on the rise since 2022. China's coal consumption hit a new record of 4.9 billion tonnes in 2024. In the first half of 2025, 75% of newly proposed coal capacity, 96% of capacity that started construction, and 71% of the world's newly operating capacity was in China.