China is poised to take advantage of the global urgency to tackle climate change. It is the world’s dominant manufacturer and user of solar panels and wind turbines. It leads the world in producing energy from hydroelectric dams and is building more nuclear power plants than any other country.

But China also burns more coal than the rest of the world combined and has accelerated mining and the construction of coal-fired power plants, driving up the country’s emissions of energy-related greenhouse gases by nearly 6per cent last year, the fastest pace in a decade. And China’saddiction to coal is likely to endure for years, even decades.

As the world’s climate negotiators gather this weekend in Egypt for their 27th annualCOP gathering, China needs to balance limiting greenhouse gas emissions with its concerns about securing its own energy. The country has long viewed coal, which it has in abundance, as the best way to avoid becoming dependent on foreign energy suppliers and remaining susceptible to unpredictable weather.

In no country are the climate stakes higher than they are in China. Mainly because of its use of coal, China emits almost a third of all manmade greenhouse gases.

“There is no solution to climate change without reducing China’s coal combustion,” said David Sandalow, a senior energy official in the Obama and Clinton administrations.

The big question lies in whether China will run its new coal-fired plants around the clock or only occasionally, as a backup for renewable energy.

New York Times News Service