Analysis

China’s Decarbonization Is So Fast Even New Coal Plants Aren’t Stopping It

Advances in clean energy are compensating for new construction. August 21, 2025, 9:30 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Workers carry solar panels to be installed in the desert.

While headlines around the world have focused on China’s continued coal use , the actual story is much more complex. Behind those numbers is a rapidly changing energy landscape that could lead to a much less carbon-intensive future.

The key elements of this are the fast changes in non-fossil energy capacity, especially the explosion of solar energy since 2022. There is a big difference between the construction of coal-fired power plants and the actual use of coal. While Chinese companies have continued to build

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