China’s Climate Pledges Lost in a Haze of Coal Smoke

“Beijing’s climate narrative is riddled with hypocrisy. While the regime touts clean energy and green bonds to woo global investors, it continues to expand coal the dirtiest fossil fuel at an alarming pace.”

By Marco Respinti

September 22, 2025

Marco Respinti is an Italian author and journalist. He contributes to several publications and serves as Director-in-Charge of both “Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights” and the academic “The Journal of CESNUR.”

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) issuance of sovereign green bonds on the London Stock Exchange was hailed as a milestone in sustainable finance, positioning Beijing as a climate champion. The initiative promised to attract global capital into the PRC’s green sectors and foster cooperation with Europe at large. Yet beneath the fanfare lies a troubling contradiction.

In 2024 alone, Beijing approved and began constructing 94.5 gigawatts of coal power its highest since 2015. This aggressive expansion of the world’s dirtiest fuel starkly contradicts its climate pledges and exposes the gap between its international image and domestic reality.

The PRC surged ahead in global coal development during the first half of 2025, outpacing all other nations combined in new proposals, construction starts, and plant commissions, according to Globale Energy Monitor’s (GEM) tracker. The country proposed 74.7GW of new coal projects nearly seven times the rest of the world’s 11GW and launched 46GW in construction, nearing 2024’s record-breaking 97GW.

GEM and Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s (CREA) joint report highlights key coal-heavy regions Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shaanxi, Hunan, Anhui, and Guangdong as leading the charge. Their momentum is driven by streamlined permitting, robust local utilities, and steady investment flows. The country’s coal expansion signals entrenched infrastructure and policy support, even as global pressure mounts for cleaner energy transitions.

Despite leading in solar and wind installations and investing heavily in electric vehicles and reforestation, Beijing’s energy system remains anchored in coal, which still powers around 60% of its consumption more than double the global average. These choices have direct consequences: toxic air, degraded ecosystems, and rising public health risks within its borders.

The PRC cannot credibly claim climate leadership while perpetuating environmental harm at home. Its green rhetoric abroad rings hollow unless matched by a decisive shift away from coal and toward genuine, enforceable sustainability within its own territory.

Its environmental policy is riddled with contradictions. Despite its global climate pledges, Beijing continues to double down on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Following the 2021 power crisis, authorities ordered mines to run at full tilt and sanctioned 66.7GW of new coal capacity in a single year more than the rest of the world combined. The official rationale? Energy security. But this justification masks deeper structural flaws.

Coal’s dominance isn’t just strategic: it’s systemic. Local governments, especially in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia, are locked into coal dependency. GDP growth targets, employment metrics, and fiscal revenues hinge on coal’s continuity. In these regions, coal isn’t merely an energy source; it’s an economic lifeline. This entrenched reliance creates political inertia, making clean energy transitions politically risky and economically disruptive.

Beijing’s climate narrative ambitious on paper collides with a political economy that rewards short-term stability over long-term sustainability. Until these incentives shift, the PRC’s environmental promises will remain dangerously hollow.

The country’s top-down governance model suggests centralized control, yet environmental policy reveals a more fractured reality. While Beijing champions a green transition, provincial governments often dilute or delay implementation. National climate directives are refracted through local economic imperatives, resulting in patchy enforcement and uneven outcomes. This disconnect undermines the coherence of the PRC’s climate strategy.

Compounding the challenge is the country’s outdated and uneven electricity grid. Renewable energy abundant in the western provinces struggles to reach the industrial heartlands of the east. Grid inflexibility, limited storage capacity, and weak demand-response systems mean coal remains the main source of energy, reinforcing dependence on a polluting legacy.

The deeper issue is structural inertia. Coal isn’t just an energy source: it’s embedded in local economies and political incentives. Transitioning away demands more than policy: it requires a reconfiguration of economic priorities. Yet Beijing continues to approve coal projects that risk becoming stranded assets, obsolete long before their projected lifespan.

This is more than a miscalculation. It’s a strategic failure that threatens both the PRC’s climate credibility and its long-term economic resilience. The question is whether political will can overcome entrenched interests before the damage becomes irreversible.

Beijing’s climate narrative is riddled with hypocrisy. While the regime touts clean energy and green bonds to woo global investors, it continues to expand coal the dirtiest fossil fuel at an alarming pace. As the world’s top carbon emitter, the choices of the PRC directly threaten the 1.5°C climate goal. Its reliance on coal isn’t just a domestic failure; it’s a global betrayal.

The green transition cannot coexist with relentless coal expansion. Beijing must stop misleading the world with hollow pledges and start delivering real change. Until it halts new coal projects and rewires its economic incentives, its climate commitments remain performative and dangerously deceptive.

The PRC’s energy transition hinges on more than rhetoric: it demands structural overhaul. Modernising its outdated, fragmented power grid must be a top priority. Without smarter transmission systems, robust storage, and regional interconnectivity, renewables will remain side-lined while coal continues to dominate. Grid reform isn’t optional; it’s foundational.

Energy efficiency has improved, particularly in reducing energy intensity per unit of GDP. Yet heavy industry remains a laggard, clinging to obsolete technologies. Accelerating electrification and enforcing stricter efficiency standards are vital steps toward meaningful decarbonisation.

Equally urgent is restoring credibility to the country’s green finance. Sovereign green bonds may signal intent, but intent alone won’t cut it. Funds must be channelled into truly sustainable projects: no “clean coal” loopholes, no vague transitional labels. Rigorous definitions, independent audits, and transparent disclosures are essential to prevent greenwashing.

Beijing’s global footprint matters too. The Belt and Road Initiative must evolve into a vehicle for low-carbon development, not a pipeline for overseas coal. Real leadership means cutting coal dependency at home and abroad. A green bond may polish the narrative, but it can’t mask the soot. Systemic change is the only path forward.

Source: tower-post.com