China commands global headlines with its clean energy investments, smashing records in solar and wind. But in 2024, the nation also set a nearly decade-high record for new coal-fired power construction—building 94.5 GW of capacity and restarting 3.3 GW in mothballed projects. It’s a bold, contradictory move: leading the world in renewables and in new coal plants at the very same time.
This blog unpacks why China is fueling both sides of the energy equation, how policy and structural challenges hinder genuine transition, and what this means for the world’s climate future.