High Emissions Put Beijing 'Way Off On Its Climate Goals Track'

China is off track on all of its core 2025 climate targets, despite the fact that clean energy is now the biggest driver of the country's economic growth, analysis has found.

- Amy Hawkins

After years of rapid growth, China is grappling with a slowdown. The government has supercharged the growth of the renewable energy industry, but it has simultaneously poured stimulus funds into construction and manufacturing, and continues to approve coal power.

China's energy consumption increased by 5.7% in 2023, while its economy grew by 5.2% - rapid for most countries but slow compared with previous growth rates.

Carbon dioxide emissions have continued to grow, even as economic growth has slowed, because China's economic growth during and after the Covid-19 pandemic has been highly energy intensive. Between 2021 and 2023, CO2 emissions grew at an average of 3.8% a year, up from 0.9% a year between 2016 and 2020 GDP growth slowed slightly over the same period.

The findings were published in a new analysis from Carbon Brief conducted by Lauri Myllyvirta, a lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).