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Global Coal Capacity Growth Blamed on China, EU, US – FT

New coal power was brought online in China – and Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Japan – while there was a slowdown in closures in Europe and the US


China
A coal-burning power plant can be seen behind a factory in the city of Baotou, in China's Inner Mongolia region. Photo: Reuters

 

Global coal power capacity grew by 2% last year with new additions in China and a slowdown in shutdowns in Europe and the US to blame, the Financial Times reported, putting climate targets at risk in the world’s No2 economy and elsewhere across the world.

New data from the non-profit research group Global Energy Monitor found that coal capacity outside of China increased for the first time since 2019, as less coal power was retired than in any single year of the past decade, the story went on.

Also, despite China’s rollout of renewable energy being the world’s fastest – it doubled its solar capacity in 2023 and wind power capacity rose by 66% from a year earlier – its overall energy demands have been far greater, the report’s authors observed.

As well as in China, new coal power was brought online in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece and Zimbabwe.

Read the full story: The Financial Times

 

  • By Sean O’Meara

 

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China Wind, Solar Capacity Set to Outstrip Coal For First Time

Work on New Coal Plants Raises Doubt on China’s Climate Vows

 

 

Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.