John Kerry, the United States special presidential envoy for climate, has commended China for its efforts to phase out dirty fuels in favor of renewable alternatives. Speaking in Beijing after arriving for three days of talks on climate change, Kerry praised China for the it’s speedy expansion of green-energy sources across the massive country.
China, which is the largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, had installed up to 450 million kilowatts worth of solar power capacity by the end of May. The country has also upped its investment in green energy in recent months, spending around $13.68 billion on solar infrastructure and energy from January to May 2023.
On the other hand, China has spent recent months building up its coal-fired power infrastructure amid global power shortages and extreme weather, something that didn’t impress the U.S. special envoy. Kerry urged China to stop constructing coal-fired power plants as the country has consistently been responsible for around one-third of global greenhouse emissions.
Because of its high level of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, China will be critical to achieving global climate change goals. While such a massive transition from entrenched modes of energy production will require significant resources, new technology and innovation, China has the technical know-how needed to pull off such a feat.
According to World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Manuala V. Ferro, China’s growth over the long-term will depend on “rebalancing the economy from infrastructure investment to innovation.”
Kerry’s recent trip to China followed visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, increasing hopes that tensions between the two superpowers may be at an end. China and the United States may be competitors on the global stage, but both countries are interested in cutting carbon emissions and arresting the effects of global change, especially since both the U.S. and China are already dealing with the effects of climate change.
Kerry tried to navigate the tensions between the two countries by isolating climate change discussions from disputes on human rights, technology and trade during his early days as a special climate change envoy. However, talks between the two countries broke down last year after a high-profile visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first visit by a high-ranking U.S. official since April 1997. Issues such as a Chinese spy balloon that drifted over the U.S. coupled with the poor health of China’s climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua frustrated the climate change talks even further.
Just as China is finding it hard to decisively scale back on the use of coal, it is likely that coal companies such as Alliance Resource Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) will remain relevant for many more years before coal extraction is no longer worthwhile as a business undertaking.
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