Turkey is pushing ahead with plans to double its coal power capacity with 30 new coal power stations despite major health impacts and costs linked to the country’s existing coal fleet. A new analysis by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) finds that the health impacts of coal pollution in Turkey currently generate economic costs […]
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CREA’s first year in action – how did we make a difference in 2020
Two founders of CREA, Lauri Myllyvirta and Nandikesh Sivalingam have been climate activists for many years. Myllyvirta started fighting power plant investments in Finland in his younger years and has now led climate projects in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe as well as many other regions. Sivalingam started working on coal and energy in India […]
Analysis: Surge in China’s steel production helps to fuel record-high CO2 emissions
China’s CO2 emissions have rebounded from a steep, but short-lived, fall due to the Covid-19 lockdown to reach a new record high, analysis of the latest quarterly data reveals. Government stimulus measures introduced earlier this year to fire up China’s post-covid economy have seen steel production, in particular, ramp up. The three-month period from July-September […]
BRIEFING: Air pollution increases around Beijing as steel mills fail to cut capacity
At the start of the winter season, the infamous “Beijing smog” returned with a vengeance, causing the Beijing and Xi’an air quality control regions to fall behind their winter air quality targets in October-November. Industrial emissions have increased due to a surge in production by polluting heavy industries and failure to meet targets for controlling […]
How to tell a strong Chinese Five-Year Plan from a weak one?
As the first details of China’s five-year plan targets for 2025 are expected to emerge from the Chinese Communist Party plenum, how do we track the level of ambition on energy and climate based on the targets? Progress on clean energy is a given in China’s 5-year plans – not least because the government like […]
China floats modest air quality targets for the winter as smog raises its ugly head
As the first bouts of winter smog have reached Beijing, the country’s environmental ministry has published draft air quality action plans for the winter. The plans include air quality targets to be met by each target area, as well as detailed measures to be taken, such as controlling emissions from unregulated small industries, retrofitting steel […]
Influential academics reveal how China can achieve its ‘carbon neutrality’ goal
China’s electricity system would need to reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 if the country is to meet its recently announced target of “carbon neutrality” before 2060. This is one of the key insights from new scenarios and policy recommendations for meeting the goal, published separately by two leading – and highly influential – Chinese […]
Analysis: China’s Covid stimulus plans for fossil fuels three times larger than low-carbon
China’s main energy-consuming and producing provinces are directing the equivalent of hundreds of billions of dollars into fossil fuel projects, analysis of spending plans reveals. If the investments go ahead, they would exceed spending plans for low-carbon energy threefold. The findings are from our new analysis of the “major project lists” for eight Chinese provinces, […]
China’s 2060 climate pledge: long-awaited breakthrough or sugar-coating another decade of rising emissions?
In a surprise announcement at the UN General Assembly, chairman Xi declared that China will aim to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 – the earlier pledge was for emissions to peak “around” 2030 with no word of what would happen after. While any increase in ambition is a positive signal, the upcoming five-year plan will be a key test of what the new pledge means in practice.
Weather-correction of air pollution – Application to COVID-19
[Methodology note] Air pollution levels are generally determined by two main factors: emissions and weather conditions. The latter are known to affect air quality in various ways: dispersion, precipitation or the facilitation of chemical reactions. This impact of weather creates uncertainty when it comes to understanding the effect of policies on air quality, or, for […]