China has made progress on constructing a massive coal power plant, which some experts warn could threaten the progress the nation has made in the clean energy sector. A report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the Global Energy Monitor said that in 2024, China began constructing a 94.5 gigawatt coal power plant, the largest it has built since 2015. The report highlighted concerns about the plant overshadowing the growing clean energy sector, saying that “[i]nstead of replacing coal, clean energy is being layered on top of an entrenched reliance on fossil fuels,” according to AP News. The plant will significantly increase fossil fuel capacity over the next couple years, which might lead to clean energy developments taking the back burner.
Climate analysts think China’s carbon emissions have already peaked, so now the challenge is to reduce them to carbon neutrality. In this area, the country made significant progress in 2024. AP News wrote that “The nation put up 357 gigawatts of solar and wind [power], a 45% and 18% increase… according to China’s National Energy Administration. That’s akin to building 357 full-size nuclear plants in one year.” China has surpassed President Xi Jinping’s goal of having 1200 gigawatts of energy installed by 2030. Additionally, it supplies other countries with parts needed for clean energy construction, like solar panels, batteries, and electrolyzers to make hydrogen fuel. Yet China is still the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, so there is still room for improvement when it comes to reaching carbon neutrality.
This report comes just ahead of the United Nation’s due date for countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement to submit climate action plans. So far, only a dozen of the 195 countries in the agreement have submitted their plans, accounting for only 16.2% of global emissions. These include the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Marshall Islands, Singapore, Saint Lucia, Andorra, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Uruguay. Some United Nations officials say the delay is acceptable, as long as countries are working towards their plans, but others are less forgiving and say that there is no time to waste.
Countries differ in where they are in their clean energy journeys. A report from Ember, a clean energy think tank, reveals that in 2024, Brazil had 89% clean energy, “Canada had about 66.5%, China 30.6%, France 26.5%, the U.S. 22.7% and India 19.5%.” It also stated that 47% of the European Union’s energy comes from renewable sources, and 24% comes from nuclear power, with less than 10% of energy coming from coal last year. These developments are largely due to the E.U.’s Green Deal, which aims to make the bloc climate neutral by 2050 through incentives for clean energy transitions, and the Russia-Ukraine war, which has made gas expensive and inaccessible. AP News wrote that “[t]he transition to clean power [has] helped Europe avoid more than $61 billion worth of fossil fuel imports for generating electricity since 2019.”
While some countries are moving forward, the United States seems to be taking a step back with the new presidential administration. In the past month, President Donald Trump has signed various executive orders, including pulling out of the Paris Agreement, declaring a “national energy emergency,” and encouraging oil drilling. He has also promised to repeal tax credits from electric vehicles. In a P.B.S. article, Ani Dasgupta of the World Resources Institute pointed out that “[w]alking away from the Paris Agreement won’t protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will hand China and the European Union a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and lead to fewer opportunities for American workers.”
These events represent failures on multiple fronts when it comes to climate action. The U.N. has not stressed urgency for countries to fulfill their deadlines to submit climate action plans. In fact, AP News wrote that U.N. Climate Secretary Simon Stiell has “emphasized quality over timeliness.” Yet the lack of seriousness for one deadline could create a pattern for the next deadline or the one after that. With the world already on track to warm 3.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, this is precious time that humanity does not have to waste. The U.N. should not take these missed deadlines lightly, as it indicates that not enough countries are prioritizing sustainability and environmental action.
Yet the U.N. alone is not to blame, especially as it does not have enforcement power the same way a sovereign country does over its own territory and citizens. Countries must voluntarily take action for the long-term benefit of their people and the world. Right now, most countries do not seem to be putting climate change at the top of their priority list, even though it is arguably the biggest issue of the century. The U.S. especially needs to be doing more. As the largest per-capita carbon dioxide emitter in the world, the U.S. government should be taking more action to cut its emissions rather than undoing the climate policies that are already in place.
There are many things that can be done to mitigate the problem. First, countries should promptly submit their climate action plans to the U.N. Even if it is just a rough outline or proposal rather than a detailed report, it is important to take that first step and have an action plan ready. This will make it easier for countries to begin executing their plans if they have a clear path in mind, and it will make it easier for other countries and nongovernmental organizations to hold countries accountable to their targets. It is also a good way to exchange ideas on ways to reduce emissions, by looking at what solutions other countries are implementing.
Governments should work to implement policies that incentivize development in the clean energy sector. China and the E.U. are taking the lead in this strategy, and it seems like this industry will only be growing over the next few decades, providing ample opportunities for economic growth. A report from the Yale Center for Business and the Environment showed that rent from clean energy projects on public land contributed $660 million to various U.S. governments between 1982 and 2019. The same report showed that between 1996 and 2019, the clean energy sector contributed over $13 billion to the U.S. economy and over 13,000 jobs in construction and operations. Clean energy growth, coupled with policies discouraging fossil fuel use, such as carbon taxes, can truly be steps in the right direction.
Finally, in democratic countries like the U.S., citizens should urge their governments to create stronger environmental policies. Contacting government representatives, working with grassroots organizations, or supporting advocacy groups are ways that people can use their influence to hold their governments accountable. While the government makes the laws, it ultimately should serve the interests and desires of the people, and in turn the people have a responsibility to speak out for issues they care about.
Climate action might take time and effort to start having an impact, but it will not happen at all unless people start working together and truly thinking about the long-term wellbeing of the species. Cooperation is always a challenge, especially at the global level, but it has to be done in this case. The alternative will not be acceptable for the current and future generations of humanity.
