‘China has no choice but to rely on coal for now’

China is targeting economic growth of at least 6 percent of GDP this year. ‘To achieve long-term growth goals, China has been dependent on coal for some time. We have no choice, ”said Suu Kyi, deputy general secretary of the National Development and Reform Commission.

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that his country’s carbon emissions would begin to decline from 2030 and eventually become carbon neutral by 2060. Although that goal is not so easy to achieve. After all, various policymakers have already pointed out that economic growth is a priority. The Chinese economy is mainly dependent on energy from coal. The Chinese government has set a target of 6 percent GDP growth by 2021.

Coal is the main source of energy

‘China’s energy system is dominated by coal energy. This is an objective reality, ”Suu Kyi said last week. ‘At the moment, renewable energy sources such as wind farms are intermittent and unstable. We must rely on a sustainable energy source. We have no choice. For a time we would have to use coal as a flexible energy source. ‘Coal is readily available, while renewable energy in China needs to be further developed,’ he said.

Meanwhile, China also continues to invest in foreign coal mines. In an interview with CNBC, Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change Li Kao said that China is doing so because many developing countries do not have electricity. “What can you do in such a situation where there is no coal,” Li Kao said.

According to the Boston University Center for Global Development Policy, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China have jointly funded $ 474 million in coal sector projects outside China. However, the same report points out that China’s funding for energy projects beyond its borders has been steadily declining since 2016.

China is the largest emitter of CO2

Coal accounted for 56.8 percent of China’s GDP by 2020, up from 72.4 percent 15 years ago, Li Kao said. Last year, China emitted the world’s largest carbon dioxide, according to the Union of Concern Scientists, a non-profit organization founded at MIT. The United States was second and India was third.

At last week’s climate summit, G called for international cooperation to reduce carbon emissions, and said that different countries should play different roles in that reduction. ‘China will strictly monitor projects that produce a lot of carbon dioxide. We will also control the increase in coal consumption over the next five years. We will reduce emissions for the next five years, ”said the Chinese president.

(LP)

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