• Devorlon
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    3 days ago

    From the article

    The China Coal Industry Association also forecast a 4.5% increase, highlighting the uncertainty in forecasting [thermal power output] (coal, gas).

    I’d say it is surprising, considering China is still building coal power stations and Chinese industry bodies are forecasting more coal being needed.

    • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Sure, Chinese coal is a problem. But (a) these coal forecasts keep getting revised downwards, not least because of the absolute freefall in solar energy prices, which is - to repeat - entirely China’s doing, and (b) the USA - which has 4 times China’s GDP per capita and is responsible for a huge chunk of the world’s historic emissions - is now literally the world’s largest oil and gas producer and just elected a leader who promises to double down on that.

      So: good news, perhaps even surprising news. But I say we should not lose sight of the larger picture: in the wider story here, China is much more of a hero than a villain.