China's Co2 Emissions Have Been Flat or Falling for Past 18 Months
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theguardian.comResearchstory
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Climate Change
China Emissions
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China's CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for the past 18 months, sparking debate on whether this is a positive development for the environment or a sign of economic downturn.
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Nov 11, 2025 at 4:21 AM EST
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> meant the country’s energy sector emissions remained flat, even as the demand for electricity increased.
Emphasis added.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underoccupied_developments_in_...
China tends to build things they don't use or are under utilised due to weird incentives at the province and national level. This include coal power plants.
> In 2020 over 40% of plants were estimated to be running at a net loss and new plants may become stranded assets. In 2021 some plants were reported close to bankruptcy due to being forbidden to raise electricity prices in line with high coal prices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_power_in_China
Beyond trying to artificially inflate their productivity figures, another possible explanation for their weird stockpiling is that these resources could be used in a war time. Nuclear winter? Just turn the coal power stations back on.