The Hard Hat Professional

In sharp contrast to the global trend, China launched 70.2GW of new coal construction in 2023, far surpassing the 3.7GW undertaken in the rest of the world, a 19-fold difference. This recent surge in coal power development in China significantly diverges from the global movement toward cleaner energy sources. According to a recent report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), China accounted for 95% of the world's new coal power construction activity in 2023, with 70 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity beginning construction. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the world, where less than 4GW of new coal power construction started.  The report also highlights that coal power plant retirements were at their lowest level since 2011, and that China needs to take immediate action to meet its target of retiring 30GW of coal power by 2025. The report concludes that the world's operating coal power capacity reached an all-time high in 2023, with China accounting for two-thirds of the global