Author: langb

Estimating the Employment and Fiscal Consequences of Thermal Coal Phase-Out in China

China hosts over half of global coal-fired power generation capacity and has the world’s largest coal reserves. Its 2060 carbon neutrality goal will require coal-fired electricity generation to shrink dramatically, with or without carbon capture and storage technology. A new journal article published in Energies by Alex Clark and Weirong Zhang focuses on the employment […]

The Political Economy of Coal: The Case of China

China exceeds all other countries in annual energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon intensity of China’s economy (i.e., the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP) is also relatively high due to the use of abundant and low-cost domestic coal resources. Given massive domestic coal reserves, China uses more than half and produces […]

China’s Withdrawal from Overseas Coal in Context

China has played a significant role in enabling overseas coal-fired power plant development through the provision of capital and construction services. Following Xi Jinping’s announcement in September 2021 that China would no longer build new coal-fired power projects abroad, the potential scope of affected capacity remains unclear. In a new World Development Perspectives article, Cecilia […]

What Drives Pakistan’s Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction Boom? Understanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s Energy Portfolio

As countries committed to keep warming well below 2° Celsius, with efforts to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius in the Paris Agreement, investments in the construction of coal-fired power plants have come into the spotlight. China’s policies and actions in financing coal-fired power plants overseas have received much attention in recent years after major international […]

Domestic Policies and Practices Could Increase Social and Ecological Risks Along the BRI: Insights from Indonesia

By Blake Alexander Simmons Rapid development has become a global priority as countries strive to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-trillion-dollar push to increase international investment, finance and trade, offers a potential pathway for countries to reach their national development goals. Indeed, Chinese financing is […]