As the world’s most populous country, China faces a tremendous amount of criticism for its significant contributions to the global carbon footprint. China’s rapid economic growth in the last few years has been accompanied by an increase in fossil fuel usage, casting a shadow over its environmental impact. In fact, the country's stance on fossil fuels is expected to be a key issue at COP28 climate talks in Dubai.
Nevertheless, a transformative change has begun to unfold as the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s (CREA) lead analyst, Lauri Myllyvirta, said emissions could start to go into 'structural decline' as early as 2024, despite an estimated rebound of 4.7% year on year in the third quarter of 2023. He believes Factors including record levels of new renewable installations, a return in hydropower generation, and a moderate economic recovery that hasn't relied on infrastructure investment guarantee a reduction in China's CO2 emissions next year.
In an analysis published by Carbon Brief, Myllyvirta optimistically stated that ‘If coal interests fail to stall the expansion of China's wind and solar capacity, then low-carbon energy growth would be sufficient to cover rising electricity demand beyond 2024 which would push fossil fuel usage and emissions into a prolonged period of structural decline.
Source: Reuters. "China emissions could go into 'structural decline' next year - research". https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-emissions-could-go-into-structural-decline-next-year-research-2023-11-14/. 14 Nov, 2023. [Date accessed: 24 Nov, 2023]
Edited by: Manan Chordia
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