China’s use of coal in its energy
mix continued to decline in 2020, but more aggressive measures may be needed to
reduce emissions in order to meet Beijing’s climate goals.
Coal use accounted for 56.8% of
the country’s total energy consumption last year, down 0.9 of a percentage
point from 2019, according to figures released Sunday by the National Bureau of
Statistics. The modest decline allowed China to meet a government target to
reduce the proportion of coal to around 57.5% in 2020. Still, total coal use
climbed by 0.6% as energy consumption rose by 2.2% in 2020 from a year earlier.
President Xi Jinping pledged China would
target carbon neutrality by 2060 in a September 22 speech to the United
Nations. While he didn’t lay out details, Xi’s announcement implies the
nation’s emissions will have to sharply decline to reach net-zero in less than
30 years after peaking in 2030.
One proposal under consideration to accelerate
China’s adoption of clean energy is to cut the share of coal in the energy mix
to 52% by 2025, Bloomberg reported earlier. Still a gulf remains between
China’s ambitious carbon-neutral goals and the desire of its companies to
maintain breakneck growth.
China may provide more details of its roadmap to
carbon neutrality in its five-year policy blueprint set to be unveiled at
legislative meetings that start next week. Beijing’s energy policy will need to
juggle the competing demands of delivering economic growth, promoting energy
security and mitigating the worst effects of global warming.
The proportion of clean energy including natural gas,
hydropower, nuclear and wind power in total energy use rose by 1.0 percentage
points to 24.3% in 2020, according to China’s statistics bureau.
Mining.com