US EditionClean Energy Shifts China’s CO₂ Emissions From Growth To Decline - CleanTechnica
- China’s CO2 output declined by 1.6% year-on-year during the first three months of 2025, driven by a 5.8% reduction in power-sector emissions, even as electricity consumption rose by 2.5%.
- This decline resulted from a surge in clean power generation from wind, solar, nuclear, and increased battery storage capacity, which offset coal use growth in heavy industries.
- By the end of 2024, electric cars made up more than 30% of all newly purchased vehicles, while ongoing structural changes—such as the transition to cleaner fuels and shifts within industry—helped sustain the downward trend in emissions despite continued economic expansion.
- Lauri Myllyvirta, a principal expert on energy and emissions at a prominent research institute, highlighted that for the first time in China’s history, the growth of clean energy has directly contributed to a reduction in the country’s carbon dioxide emissions, marking a significant turning point in emission trends.
- If China sustains clean energy expansion and policy support, it may confirm peak emissions before 2030 and influence global climate efforts, though new renewable pricing policies and trade tensions add uncertainty.
16 Articles
16 Articles
China's Power Sector Emissions fall 5.8% in Q1, as Renewables rapidly Replace Coal
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Lauri Myllyvirta writes at Carbon Brief that China’s CO2 emissions over-all fell by 1% in the past 12 months, and by 1.6% in the first quarter of this year compared to Q1 of 2024. In the first quarter of this year, moreover, power sector emissions fell a dramatic 5.8 percent. That change came about because China burned less coal and used more wind, water, solar and battery (WWSB). Myllyvirta, lead analyst at Finlan…
China’s emissions fall as Clean energy overtakes coal for first time
China’s carbon emissions have declined over the past 12 months, marking a major shift in the country’s energy landscape. This drop wasn’t due to a slowdown in the economy—it was driven by a rise in clean energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power, which outpaced coal even as electricity demand continued to rise. According to a new analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, this is the first time Chin…
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