China energy and emissions trends: January 2026 snapshot

By Qi Qin, China Analyst; Chengcheng Qiu, China Analyst; Danny Hartono, Data Scientist; with contributions from Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst

Declines in thermal power, steel, and cement output drove a fall in China’s CO₂ emissions in 2025, which also saw 1/3 of provincial capitals fail to meet the PM2.5 standard, and 1/5 fail to meet the ozone standard