Adam Morton
There is an unprecedented global swing towards solar and wind power under way

Thu 16 Nov 2023 20.21 EST

If you’re searching for some hope on the climate crisis before the Cop28 UN meeting in Dubai this month, try this: China may be changing direction on pollution earlier than expected.

Lauri Myllyvirta, a longtime China analyst now with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, calculated that CO2 emissions from the world’s biggest national polluter are likely to fall next year and could then go into “structural decline”.

While the country’s emissions have increased this year – unsurprisingly, given that Beijing lifted zero-Covid controls at the end of 2022 – the more important news is its record growth in clean energy capacity. The expansion is on a scale large enough to more than meet its increasing demand.

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