During my break from writing I missed news on how China is getting more and more serious on fighting climate change each month.
In a previous post in April I reported that the local consumption of coal had decreased significantly over the past few years ” from increases of 19.2 and 17.5 percent in 2003 and 2004 to an increase of less than three percent in the previous years. “
But there are even better news as Cleantechnica reported last month that… wait for it… China’s coal consumption has finally decreased.
Here are some details :
According to analysis produced by Lauri Myllyvirta and Greenpeace International in the first half of this year, China’s coal use dropped for the first time this century – while the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) actually grew.
You read that right: coal and GDP growth have decoupled in China.
(…) It’s hard to understate just how historic this shift is. Analysts have been arguing over if, and when, Chinese coal consumption would peak. Some were forecasting a peak before 2020
So coal is decreasing, but what is replacing all this energy ? The Energy Post got some answers.
The Chinese wind energy sector is growing at tremendously. China is expected to exceed its 2015 target of 100GW wind capacity by 30%.
And as if it wasn’t enough, the People’s Republic is going to open as early as 2016 the world’s biggest carbon market. There are already seven local carbon trading pilot programs, including in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
It would be nice if some other nations around the world – the United States or Australia… or some others in Europe – were following this example.
Image credits : Flickr.