China has not yet reached its peak carbon dioxide emissions, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). This statement responds to recent speculation suggesting China had hit its emissions peak before its scheduled deadline.
Song Wen, head of law and institutional reform at the NEA, emphasized that China remains a developing country with a large population and ongoing modernization efforts. “Significant efforts are still required to meet the targets for peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality,” Song told the media, as reported by Bloomberg.
Despite its leadership in the energy transition—investing heavily in wind, solar, and electric vehicles, and becoming the largest producer of these technologies—China remains one of the top carbon dioxide emitters globally.
To address this, China plans to build 11 new nuclear reactors to increase the share of zero-emission energy in its power mix. The country is constructing more nuclear power plants than any other nation, following a similar trend with coal plants. According to BloombergNEF, China aims to become the world’s largest nuclear power generator by 2030, with 26 reactors under construction set to add over 30 GW of capacity.
At the same time, China has significantly reduced approvals for new coal capacity. The number of new coal projects approved in the first half of the year was 80% lower than during the same period in 2023. It remains unclear whether this decrease is due to a sufficient coal supply from previous approvals or efforts to lessen coal’s dominance in the energy mix.