The world's energy watchdog have said moving away from coal needs to be a priority in key regions.
The head of the world's energy watchdog emphasised that if global green recovery is to make an impact, moving away from coal needs to be targeted everywhere.
China still use coal as a key part of their energy system, and this is something that looks to continue in the future with plans to build more coal-fired power plants in the country. More coal-fired power generation was approved in china last year than had been in any of the previous two years according to the Global Energy Monitor. Many hoped the coronavirus pandemic would lead to the world becoming more green, but China's greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 were higher than they had been in 2019. Rather than using the pandemic to support green growth, China has focused on recovering from the economic shock.
The Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air have produced a document called "A New Coal Boom in China" which summarises:
"After years of the Government putting the brakes on the amount of coal plants newly proposed and permitted for construction, Chinese coal industry is trying to step on the gas again, according to a survey of coal plant development in China from January 1 to June 15, 2020, by Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air."
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency said:
"Our data indicates a strong rebound in China's emissions in the second half of 2020. From April onward, monthly emissions in China surpassed the levels of 2019. If this strong trend is confirmed through December, Chinese emissions for the whole of 2020 may well catch up with the 2019 level, despite the sharp decline in the first quarter of 2020."
India also has huge interests in coal, with more than half a million miners in the country. The UN secretary general has already urged India to move away from coal power in the aim to revive global action on the climate crisis as the world began to emerge through the coronavirus pandemic.
Birol has expressed concern that if this pattern continues in other key emerging economies such as Indonesia, the chances of a green recovery will become reduced.
The good news is some countries have listened after Birol warned last summer that the world needed to concentrate on a green recovery from the pandemic. Clean energy is on the rise over the last five years, and fossil fuel subsidies are falling.
As countries across the globe fight a second wave of the pandemic Birol has urged that we push on with our path to zero emissions.
