China cancels 103 coal plants

China released last month its 13th Five Year Plan for the energy sector, which outlined the country’s transition plans for a lower carbon energy system. These include maintaining China’s world-leading levels of investment in renewable energy and capping the country’s coal consumption.

To meet these objectives, China announced that it is planning to invest RMB 2.5 trillion in the renewables sector through to 2020.

China is also cancelling plans to build more than 100 coal-fired plants. At a projected combined output of 54 gigawatts according to Greenpeace, this is more than the entire coal-fired capacity of Germany. The cancellation strengthens China’s chances of meeting its target of reducing the proportion of coal in the energy mix from 64% in 2015 to 58% by 2020.

The New York Times shares more on the implications of China’s move away from coal here.

By : New York Times