China’s carbon emissions rise again as more clean power is wasted

Share: X (Twitter) Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Print China's carbon emissions bounced back up in early 2026 as “inflexible” grid management caused the country to waste vast quantities of clean power and burn more fossil fuels instead, new analysis shows. After recording a first full-year decline in 2025, China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy and industry grew by 2% in the first quarter of 2026, according to analysis (CREA) for Carbon Brief. China burned more coal and gas to generate electricity than in the same period a year earlier, despite building record wind and solar capacity. Instead of being integrated into the network and used, clean power equivalent to more than France's entire electricity output for the quarter was discarded. Coal power plants protected Lauri Myllyvirta, CREA's lead analyst, said the paradox was primarily caused by China's inflexible operation of coal and gas power plants, which supply electricity through long-term contracts that remove any incentive to reduce output when cheaper solar and wind power is available. Electricity trading between Chinese provinces, also based on annual contracts, prevents surplus renewable energy from flowing to other areas in real time, the analysis found. Log in here → Continue reading with free access Our goal is simple: to help you make sense of the policy decisions shaping the planet and what they mean for all of us. Register here → It takes less than a minute. ×Log in to your account Forgot your password? China's carbon emissions bounced back up in early 2026 as “inflexible” grid management caused the country to waste vast quantities of clean power and burn more fossil fuels instead, new analysis shows. After recording a first full-year decline in 2025, China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy and industry grew by 2% in the first quarter of 2026, according to analysis (CREA) for Carbon Brief. China burned more coal and gas to generate electricity than in the same period a year earlier, despite building record wind and solar capacity. Instead of being integrated into the network and used, clean power equivalent to more than France's entire electricity output for the quarter was discarded. Coal power plants protected Lauri Myllyvirta, CREA's lead analyst, said the paradox was primarily caused by China's inflexible operation of coal and gas power plants, which supply electricity through long-term contracts that remove any incentive to reduce output when cheaper solar and wind power is available. Electricity trading between Chinese provinces, also based on annual contracts, prevents surplus renewable energy from flowing to other areas in real time, the analysis found.