China shift to renewables transforms world’s biggest polluter from ‘climate bad boy’ into ‘true leader’ – ABC News

A third consecutive year of falling coal consumption and a renewable energy spending spree has made China the new global leader on climate change, some environmental groups claim.

Figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics this year revealed a 4.7 per cent year-on-year fall in coal consumption in 2016.

Coal production dropped even more, and the latest figures confirm a three-year trend of declining coal use for the country’s massive electricity grid.

“China has transformed itself from climate bad boy into a reluctant leader, and at the Paris climate change talks, really a true leader,” said Greenpeace East Asia’s spokesman Li Shuo.

As part of commitments made in the global Paris Climate agreement, China will introduce a cap on coal and seek to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

Source: China shift to renewables transforms world’s biggest polluter from ‘climate bad boy’ into ‘true leader’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)