China is the world’s most populous nation and largest current emitter of greenhouse gases.
How – and, crucially, when – this vast, complex nation fully decarbonises its surging economy is one of the great questions of our age. No matter where you live on the planet, China’s efforts to tackle climate change affect us all.
This is why Carbon Brief is now sending, on Thursdays, a free fortnightly email newsletter , which rounds up all the need-to-know information about climate and energy in China from the past fourteen days.
Every day, our China team trawls the media – both inside China and out – looking for the latest developments relating to climate change. This already feeds into our Daily Briefing media digest, but now also helps to shape our fortnightly China Briefing, too.
The fortnightly China Briefing email provides the context behind the headlines, something that is essential when trying to assess the true significance of, say, a turn of phrase by a Chinese politician.
And the email also includes the most interesting new studies we find in our daily search of peer-reviewed science journals.
Finally, the China Briefing email highlights some “extra reading” – links to articles about China that we’ve enjoyed.
Expert analysis direct to your inbox.
Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here .
Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here .
Past issues
You can find all of the previous issues of China Briefing below…
China Briefing 3 October 2024: New coal guideline; Less oil consumption; ‘Green’ hydrogen 3 October 2024
China Briefing 19 September 2024: ETS expansion; Oil demand peak; Back-to-back typhoons 19 September 2024
China Briefing 5 September 2024: ‘Energy transition’ white paper; Steel permits ‘paused’; China’s investment in Africa 5 September 2024
China Briefing 22 August 2024: ‘Groundbreaking’ guidelines for ‘green transition’ ; Coal plant approvals ‘drop sharply’; Methane emissions from abandoned coal mines 22 August 2024
China Briefing 8 August 2024: Record extreme weather; First quarterly CO2 fall since Covid; ‘Dual control’ of carbon emissions 8 August 2024
China Briefing 25 July 2024: ‘Third plenum’ outcomes; ‘Low-carbon’ coal plants; EU probes wind subsidies 25 July 2024
China Briefing 11 July 2024: ‘Wartime’ flooding emergency; EU tariff impact; Record-low coal share 11 July 2024
China Briefing 27 June 2024: Extreme weather; New talks on EV tariffs; Coal power decline 27 June 2024
China Briefing 13 June 2024: EU EV tariffs; Grid buildout; US-China subnational climate cooperation 13 June 2024
China Briefing 30 May 2024: March emissions drop; ‘United’ G7 stance on ‘overcapacity’; Li Shuo on climate finance 30 May 2024
China Briefing 16 May 2024: Biden’s 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs; State media pushback; Xi’s Europe trip 16 May 2024
China Briefing 2 May 2024: Energy Law draft; 3.9% carbon intensity target; Guangdong floods 2 May 2024
China Briefing 18 April 2024: Clean-tech ‘overcapacity’; New coal construction; Interview with China Photovoltaic Industry Association 18 April 2024
China Briefing 4 April 2024: Heat-driven impact on economy; Coal capacity ‘pushed down’; China’s WTO complaint 4 April 2024
China Briefing 21 March 2024: New ‘trade-in’ policy; China ETS expands; ‘Two sessions’ geopolitical impact 21 March 2024
China Briefing 7 March 2024: ‘Two sessions’ readout; BYD’s EV megaships; Power upgrade 7 March 2024
China Briefing 22 February 2024: Interview with Chinese govt climate advisor; Missing emissions targets; The cost of excluding China 22 February 2024
China Briefing 8 February 2024: Xi’s ‘green’ call; Renewables to top coal; No new EU solar support 8 February 2024
China Briefing 25 January 2024: Clean energy drives growth; ‘Beautiful China’ instructions; Interview with EFC’s Prof Zou Ji 25 January 2024
China Briefing 11 January 2024: Expectations for 2024; Top climate negotiator interviewed; NDRC promotes ‘green’ industry 11 January 2024
China Briefing 14 December 2023: COP28 special edition 14 December 2023
China Briefing 30 November 2023: China at COP28; Xi’s ‘unwavering’ climate commitment; Voluntary carbon market restart 30 November 2023
China Briefing 16 November 2023: Sunnylands statement; China methane plan; Coal capacity payments 16 November 2023
China Briefing 2 November 2023: Fossil fuel peak in 2024; Graphite curbs; Xie to ‘retire’ 2 November 2023
China Briefing 19 October 2023: BRI funding; coal job losses; extreme weather damage 19 October 2023
China Briefing 5 October 2023: EV investigation; Forest rules; BRI and climate 5 October 2023
China Briefing 21 September 2023: New power-market rules; 1,000GW of solar ‘by 2026’; Impact of ‘EV wars’ 21 September 2023
China Briefing 7 September 2023: Coal ‘spree’; Geopolitical ‘cooperation’; Interview with China policy experts 7 September 2023
China Briefing 24 August 2023: ‘Anti-spy’ measures for energy; Green electricity certificates; Trading carbon credits 24 August 2023
China Briefing 10 August 2023: Severe floods; G20 ‘obstruction’; Q&A on nuclear power 10 August 2023
China Briefing 27 July 2023: Kerry in Beijing; ‘Collapsing’ hydro; ‘Soaring’ solar 27 July 2023
China Briefing 13 July 2023: Emissions cap; Heat and floods; New climate talks; Gallium and germanium restrictions; Shipping carbon levy 13 July 2023
China Briefing 29 June 2023: China-German climate deal; Coal vs clean; Record-breaking heatwave; Revving EVs 29 June 2023
China Briefing 15 June 2023: CBAM fight; New energy milestone; Extreme heat 15 June 2023
China Briefing, 1 June 2022: ‘Longest sustained’ emissions drop; Xie’s Europe trip; Road transport emissions 1 June 2022
China Briefing, 19 May 2022: China to ‘significantly overachieve’ 2030 targets; Sea levels ‘highest on record’; Power cuts ‘must not occur’ 19 May 2022
China Briefing, 5 May 2022: ‘Gigantic’ wind and solar bases; Coal capacity ‘surge’; Loans for ‘clean’ coal 5 May 2022
China Briefing, 21 April 2022: ‘Unified national energy market’; Guidelines for petrochemical; Energy storage analysis 21 April 2022
China Briefing, 7 April 2022: Carbon peaking ‘around 2027’; EU-China summit; Food systems for cutting CO2 7 April 2022
China Briefing, 31 March 2022: Impact of coal push; ‘No new overseas coal power projects’; Analysis on energy plans 31 March 2022
China Briefing, 24 March 2022: 14FYP energy plan; More plans on energy storage and hydrogen; China’s emissions analysis 24 March 2022
China Briefing, 17 March 2022: Beijing ‘doubling down on fossil fuels’; China’s CO2 emissions increase; Coal production growth 17 March 2022
China Briefing, 10 March 2022: Changes to energy targets; Xi’s coal directives; Analysis on ‘record high’ coal consumption 10 March 2022
China Briefing, 3 March 2022: Impacts of Ukraine invasion; Annual statistical report; Bitcoin ‘getting even dirtier’ 3 March 2022
China Briefing, 24 February 2022: New economics measures; Assessing China’s climate pledges; Coal plant research 24 February 2022
China Briefing, 17 February 2022: New energy transition guidance; Five coal plants approved; Energy-efficiency targets raised 17 February 2022
China Briefing, 10 February 2022: ‘Green’ Olympics; Steel industry instructions; Beijing-Moscow energy deal 10 February 2022
China Briefing, 3 February 2022: Power market reform; ‘Energy-conserving’ 14FYP scheme; Xi’s trip to coal province 3 February 2022
China Briefing, 27 January 2022: Surge in offshore wind; Xi’s new speech; IEA’s report 27 January 2022
China Briefing, 20 January 2022: ‘Record-high’ coal output; Winter Olympics 2022; Xi’s new directives 20 January 2022
China Briefing, 6 January 2022: New ‘giant’ coal power plant; Hottest year on record; HFC policy 6 January 2022
China Briefing, 23 December 2021: Analysis of Beijing’s new pledge; Interview with senior advisers; Economic planning meeting 23 December 2021
China Briefing, 2 December 2021: Quarterly emissions fall; Power shortages’ impact; China-Russia energy cooperation 2 December 2021
China Briefing, 18 November 2021: Xi-Biden meeting; Methane emissions; ‘Historic new high’ for coal 18 November 2021
China Briefing, 11 November 2021: US-China Glasgow declaration; Calls for ‘concrete actions’; Xi’s absence at COP26 11 November 2021
China Briefing, 28 October 2021: ‘1+N’; Xi’s energy instruction; Climate ‘white paper’ 28 October 2021
China Briefing, 21 October 2021: ‘Power woes may worsen’; Xi ‘not expected to join’ COP26; UK-China climate ties 21 October 2021
China Briefing, 14 October 2021: Instructions to tackle power shortages; COP15 opens; Carbon-neutrality standards 14 October 2021
China Briefing, 7 October 2021: ‘All out’ to beat power shortages; 2050 ‘net-zero’ for airlines; ‘Critical decade” for global warming 7 October 2021
China Briefing, 30 September 2021: Widespread power cuts; New orders on ‘dual control’; Emissions peak likely ‘before 2028’ 30 September 2021
China Briefing, 23 September 2021: Xi’s ‘no overseas coal’ pledge; More orders on domestic coal; ‘Ball in China’s court’ 23 September 2021
China Briefing, 16 September 2021: Xi and Biden discuss climate; Johnson’s ‘last-ditch’ talks with Xi; Advice for China’s carbon goals 16 September 2021
China Briefing, 9 September 2021: Sharma’s Tianjin trip; Steel production ‘could increase’; ‘Most stringent control’ for ‘dual high’ 9 September 2021
China Briefing, 2 September 2021: Kerry meeting Xie in Tianjin; Sharma ‘heading to China’; Lockdown’s impact on climate 3 September 2021
China Briefing, 26 August 2021: Closed coal mines reopened; Rapid warming for Tibet; ‘Record low’ carbon prices 26 August 2021
China Briefing, 19 August 2021: Kerry ‘to visit China’ again; Explanation of ‘campaign-style carbon reduction’; Emissions ‘administrators’ 19 August 2021
China Briefing, 12 August 2021: Beijing’s response to IPCC report; Climate ‘blue paper’; Coal price rises 12 August 2021
China Briefing, 5 August 2021: New climate instructions; Xie’s latest speech; Flooding death toll surges 5 August 2021
China Briefing, 29 July 2021: Lessons from deadly flooding; Definition of ‘carbon neutrality’; UK-China nuclear tensions 29 July 2021
China Briefing, 15 July 2021: Cross-border coal funders; Megacities’ GHG emissions; ETS to launch ‘tomorrow’ 15 July 2021
China Briefing, 8 July 2021: Xi invited to COP26; ‘Largest’ coal-chemical project suspended; New authority for climate roadmap 8 July 2021
China Briefing, 1 July 2021: ETS launch delayed; Massive hydropower station; Coal prices to fall 1 July 2021
China Briefing, 24 June 2021: Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles; ETS launch date; Xinjiang solar ban 24 June 2021
China Briefing, 17 June 2021: Overseas coal projects; Nuclear ‘leak’ report; Sustainable food production 17 June 2021
China Briefing, 10 June 2021: Energy ‘pre-warning’ system; Chinese banks ‘fund’ deforestation; Coal price cap 10 June 2021
China Briefing, 3 June 2021: New climate ‘leaders group’; ‘Record-breaking’ electricity consumption; ‘Artificial sun’ 4 June 2021
China Briefing, 27 May 2021: Crypto crackdown; ETS launch nears; Energy-saving data centres 27 May 2021
China Briefing, 20 May 2021: Emissions growth fastest in a decade; Xinjiang plant rejects ‘forced labour’ claims; Regions urged to cut energy use 21 May 2021
China Briefing, 13 May 2021: Greta Thunberg criticised; Former energy official arrested; EV boom makes ‘richest man’ 13 May 2021
Expert analysis direct to your inbox.
Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here .
Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here .