China’s plan to build more coal plants deals a blow to COP26 ambitions

China plans to build more coal-fired power plants and has hinted that it will rethink its schedule to cut emissions, with a significant blow to the UK's ambitions to secure a global deal on phasing out coal at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow .
In a statement following a meeting of the National Energy Commission in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of a regular energy supply after large areas of the country were plunged into darkness due to blackouts that they hit factories and homes.

While China has released plans to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030, the statement suggested that the energy crisis has led the Communist Party to rethink the timing of this ambition, with a new "phased calendar and schedule. march for peak carbon emissions ”- reports The Guardian .

China previously set plans to be carbon neutral by 2060, with emissions peaking by 2030, a target analysts say would involve shutting down 600 coal-fired power plants. President Xi Jinping also promised to stop building coal plants overseas.

"Energy security should be the premise on which a modern energy system is built and the capacity for energy self-supply should be strengthened," the statement said.

"Given the predominant place of coal in the country's energy and resource endowments, it is important to optimize the layout for coal production capacity, build advanced coal plants as appropriate in line with development needs, and continue to phase out outdated coal power plants in an orderly fashion. National exploration of oil and gas will be intensified ”.

Beijing's ambitions for carbon dioxide production are seen as pivotal in the drive to achieve global net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and meet the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the average temperature rise to 1.5C. But Li said Beijing wanted to gather new evidence on when its peak emissions would be reached.

The statement said it has commissioned "in-depth studies and calculations in light of the recent handling of tensions in the supply of electricity and coal, to propose a gradual timetable and roadmap for peak carbon emissions."

Li's rhetoric follows reports that China has ordered its two coal-producing regions, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, to fight the country's energy supply crisis.

Beijing's renewed embrace of coal – apparently at odds with Xi state's climate ambitions – is likely to cause alarm ahead of COP26.

Alok Sharma, the UK's president-designate for COP26, said a deal to phase out coal was a key goal of the summit.

George Magnus, research associate at Oxford University's China Center and author of Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is in Jeopardy, said Beijing was forced to revise its plans in the face of the reality of economic problems and power outages. .

"China has stumbled into an energy crisis much like the rest of us, but it is exacerbated by the fact that the grid and power companies are subject to price controls and cannot pass on costs," he said. “Many have decided to stop production and have had many power outages for families and businesses. This came at a very bad time in China, on top of [the collapsed real estate giant] Evergrande and the real estate bust.

“They've basically gone back on their coal policy. With COP26 on the way, there is a lot of talk about how committed the Chinese are to achieving zero goals by 2050, but that's another setback. It has happened before, when the economy was weaker during the pandemic, which eased restrictions on coal capacity. Now they are doing it again.

“If the new stretches last a few weeks, it might not really matter. If it lasts until 2022, as China struggles to avoid bad economic results ahead of its 20th CCP party congress in November 2022, climate policy optimists may have to change their minds for sure. "

(Extract from the foreign review by Epr Comunicazione)