Last year the world was warmer than in any since records began.
China experienced a spate of heatwaves, droughts, rainstorms and typhoons. This extreme weather was down to a mixture of human-caused climate change and the return of the El Niño natural weather phenomenon.
We are all more likely to feel the impact of climate change now that extreme weather is the new normal. As a result, energy transition, climate adaptation and related issues have become more pressing than ever.
How China responds to these challenges is crucial, and not just in terms of policy at the macro scale.
With this in mind, we asked civil society groups and academics active in China’s environmental sector about the work they have been doing over the past 12 months. What did they think was the most significant environment-related event or policy of 2023? And what gave them the greatest sense of accomplishment?
Their answers have been edited for length and clarity.
The EU’s new carbon levy, and the growth of coal power in China
Chen Ying, researcher at the Research Institute for Eco-civilization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Image courtesy of Chen Ying
There was indeed progress on climate change in 2023. At an international level, the COP28 climate conference, with the largest number of participants in its history, reached a consensus on transitioning away from fossil fuels. That event also delivered the first COP “global stocktake” – on progress towards the Paris Agreement targets – since the agreement was signed in 2016. Good progress was also made in relation to the loss and damage fund.
In practical terms, however, the picture was not so encouraging. The EU introduced its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, with a transitional period beginning on 1 October. It is the world’s first carbon-border tax with a punishing effect, which is alarming. We have to be careful it doesn’t turn into a political Pandora’s box, undermining trust and stoking contention. Finding solutions in response to climate change calls for multilateral dialogue and international cooperation. Unilateral penalties are unfair, and cliquish approaches will not solve the problems.
In China, exports of electric vehicles (EVs) hit a new high, of more than 1.2 million units, up 77% year-on-year. In fact, performance was impressive across all of the “three new” exports (EVs, lithium batteries and solar cells), which has helped boost the global low-carbon transition.
Manufacturing solar cells at a factory in Hefei, Anhui province, in October 2023. Chinese companies produce most of the world’s solar panels, as well as the parts needed to make them. (Image: Alamy)
On the other hand, the continued expansion of coal power investment is troubling. Energy security concerns had come to the fore following power rationing in Sichuan and Chongqing in 2022, which was a consequence of high temperatures, drought and a shortage of hydropower. As a result, new coal plants had to be added to provide energy security. The number of hours that coal-fired generators were in operation increased in 2023, and in some parts of the country, energy emissions have been rising faster than GDP growth.
But given China’s drive to meet its dual-carbon goals – of peaking emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 – there is a real risk of coal plants becoming stranded assets in the future. Adding coal power may be unavoidable at this point, as we are in the middle of a difficult transition, but it is not sustainable. Pressure for energy security should not be directed solely to the supply side, and it does not make sense to guarantee unlimited supply at very low prices. Coal power is not the only way to achieve energy security. Issues of energy transition and security should be addressed, as far as possible, through approaches that include multi-energy complementarity [integrating the use of different energy types], intelligent dispatch, trans-provincial mechanisms for the power market, and demand-side management.
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