China, world's largest polluter, approved record coal power plants in 2022: Report

China, the world's largest polluter granted permits for 106 gigawatts of coal-powered projects across 82 locations in 2022 alone, according to a new research. It is the highest number in the last seven years and shows the excessive reliance of the world's largest emitter on fossil fuels.

The research was conducted by Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Finland-based NGO, and the Global Energy Monitor, another NGO that tracks fossil fuel infrastructure.

The study showed that everything from project approval to obtaining finance to breaking ground to starting the construction - each step of the process was expedited at a remarkable pace by the Politburo in Beijing.

Compared to 2021, coal power capacity across China went up by more than half to 50 gigawatts. The main aim of the new plants is to provide stability to the power grid and minimise the chances of a complete blackout.

The drastic increase in coal-powered projects was necessitated after Chinese cities suffered blackouts in September 2021. The problems were compounded last year when severe droughts dried up water bodies, leading to a dramatic drop in hydropower generation.

With the economy still crawling and yet to roar back to life, the Chinese government is attempting to kickstart demand. The foundation of a thriving economy is 'power generation' and last year's climactic conditions threw a major spanner in the works.

Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2020 pledged to peak the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. However, experts say that China will continue to increase its coal-powered energy generation capabilities in the coming three-four years.

Thus, if China continues its fossil fuel-dependent expansion at the current pace, it will have difficulty in sticking to the environmental commitments it has made on global platforms.

It is already responsible for about half the world's coal production and consumption. The new facilities to be installed in China are already six times the amount of total capacity added by the rest of the world combined.