Coal news and updates

China sees biggest growth in energy and coal use since 2011

China recorded its biggest increase in total energy consumption and coal use in a decade in 2021, as the economy recovered from COVID-19 slowdown a year earlier, data from the country’s statistics bureau showed on Monday.

China, the world’s biggest coal burner and greenhouse gas emitter, used 5.24 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent of energy last year, up 5.2% from 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The rate of growth was the highest since 2011, according to Reuters records based on official data.

The NBS also said coal consumption in China rose 4.6% in 2021, also the strongest rate of growth in a decade.

The government has pledged to restrict construction in high energy-consuming industries and has urged companies to save energy and boost efficiency, with soaring fossil fuel use undermining plans to cut carbon emissions.

President Xi Jinping has pledged to bring the country’s carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. However, he has not set a cap on total energy use or on carbon emission levels.

Despite rigorous measures including limiting electricity use in some regions, China’s energy intensity – a ratio measuring how much energy is used per unit of economic growth – fell 2.7% in 2021, compared to targeted reduction of “around 3%” for the year.