1. China’s renewable-energy expansion has pushed coal-fired generation below half of the country’s electricity output for the first time: coal accounted for 49.7% of generation in the first half of 2026, and by the end of July installed solar capacity had surpassed coal power, making photovoltaics the largest installed source of capacity. [para. 1][para. 2] Renewables generated 3.99 trillion kWh in 2025, equal to 38% of all electricity consumption, with new renewable generation supplying all demand growth while thermal output declined for the first time in nearly a decade. [para. 3][para. 4]
2. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment released its 2026 annual climate report at a briefing before COP31, scheduled for Nov. 9–20 in Antalya, Turkey. [para. 5] Vice Minister Li Gao said China has made substantial progress toward its nationally determined contribution targets under the Paris Agreement: peaking CO2 emissions before 2030, cutting carbon intensity by more than 65% from 2005 levels, raising nonfossil energy to about 25% of primary-energy consumption, and installing over 1.2 billion kW of combined wind and solar capacity. [para. 6][para. 7]
3. In 2025, China’s CO2 emissions per unit of GDP were 17.7% lower than in 2020; nonfossil sources accounted for 21.7% of energy consumption, up from 16%; combined wind and solar capacity reached 1.84 billion kW; and new-energy vehicles represented 50.8% of new vehicle sales. [para. 8] By the first half of 2026, renewable installed capacity rose to 2.455 billion kW, or 60.7% of total installed capacity, and China has the world’s largest operating and under-construction nuclear fleet. [para. 9] Coal’s share of total energy consumption fell to 51.4%, while clean-heating upgrades for about 42 million households cut CO2 emissions by 160 million metric tons. [para. 10]
4. China’s national carbon market, operating for over five years, now covers about 8.3 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions, or more than 65% of the national total, with cumulative allowance trading exceeding one billion metric tons. [para. 11] The market expanded beyond power generation in March 2025 to steel, cement, and aluminum smelting; authorities plan to add petrochemical, chemical, and other industrial sectors by 2027 and gradually increase the share of auctioned allowances. [para. 12]
5. China’s national climate plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period targets a 17% reduction in carbon intensity from 2025 levels by 2030, establishes a national voluntary greenhouse-gas reduction trading market, and aims to build capacity to cut 30 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions from noncarbon greenhouse gases. [para. 13][para. 14]
6. Li said climate change had shifted from a future risk to an immediate crisis after severe summer heat waves and disasters caused major casualties and losses. [para. 15] The ministry is guiding 39 cities in expanded pilots for climate-adaptive urban development, incorporating climate risks into planning, conducting risk assessments, and using AI to improve forecasting and early-warning systems. [para. 1][para. 16] All 31 provincial-level regions have issued climate-adaptation action plans; agricultural climate pilots were expanded to 10 provinces and 9 crops, and 75.68 million mu (about 12.5 million acres) of high-standard farmland was supported. [para. 17] Authorities issued 12 national heat-health alerts, completed 9,420 rural water-supply projects, and started all 46 national highway safety-and-resilience projects. [para. 18]
7. At COP31, China will support focusing on implementing existing climate commitments across nearly 100 negotiation issues, and wants progress on climate finance, including road maps for developed countries to meet a $300 billion annual financing target for 2035 and triple adaptation funding. [para. 19][para. 20] Turkey, the host, proposed a voluntary initiative targeting a global electrification rate of 35% by 2035; Li supported greater electrification for low-carbon transition but urged accounting for countries’ differing circumstances. [para. 21][para. 22]
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