China is building 148 gigawatts of coal power plants – as much electricity as Europe uses

China has enough coal-fired power plants in the pipeline to match the entire capacity of the European Union, driving the expansion in global coal power and confounding the movement against the polluting fossil fuel, according to a report.

The nation has almost 148 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity under active construction or likely to be resumed after being suspended, Global Energy Monitor, a non-profit group that tracks coal stations, said in the report Thursday based on plant-by-plant data. That’s almost equivalent to 150 gigawatts of existing coal fleet capacity in the EU and more than the combined 105 gigawatts under construction in the rest of the world, it said.

In contrast to many other countries, including the U.K.’s pledge to shut all coal plants by 2025, Beijing remains committed to coal as its biggest source of power, representing a major challenge to global emissions reduction targets. Its additions in the 18 months to June dwarf declines elsewhere in the world, according to the report.

“As more countries turn away from coal and retire their plants, China’s continued pursuit of coal is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world, and is now effectively driving the ongoing expansion of the global coal fleet,” the report said.

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China’s National Development & Reform Commission, its top economic planner, the National Energy Administration and the China Electricity Council didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Though China has spent more on clean energy than any other country and is pushing to burn natural gas instead of coal to counter smog, it’s still pumping money at home and abroad into coal-fired generation. Meanwhile, growing climate-change pressure has spurred a retreat from thermal coal by top miners such as Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group Plc and prompted lenders including Standard Chartered Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc to slash financing for new coal projects.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-20/china-set-for-massive-coal-expansion-in-threat-to-climate-goals

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