Sure, Chinese coal is a problem. But (a) these coal forecasts keep getting revised downwards, not least because of the absolute freefall in solar energy prices, which is - to repeat - entirely China’s doing, and (b) the USA - which has 4 times China’s GDP per capita and is responsible for a huge chunk of the world’s historic emissions - is now literally the world’s largest oil and gas producer and just elected a leader who promises to double down on that.
So: good news, perhaps even surprising news. But I say we should not lose sight of the larger picture: in the wider story here, China is much more of a hero than a villain.
Sure, Chinese coal is a problem. But (a) these coal forecasts keep getting revised downwards, not least because of the absolute freefall in solar energy prices, which is - to repeat - entirely China’s doing, and (b) the USA - which has 4 times China’s GDP per capita and is responsible for a huge chunk of the world’s historic emissions - is now literally the world’s largest oil and gas producer and just elected a leader who promises to double down on that.
So: good news, perhaps even surprising news. But I say we should not lose sight of the larger picture: in the wider story here, China is much more of a hero than a villain.