China needs strong mandate to phase out coal by 2045, push clean-energy transition: experts

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Such a mandate would require structural changes to the country’s power system and economic model, according to climate expert Simon Sharpe

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Huge chimneys spew smoke at a coal power plant in China. Photo: Shutterstock

Yujie Xue

Published: 7:00am, 23 Sep 2024Updated: 10:29am, 23 Sep 2024

Implementing a strong mandate to phase out coal power before 2045 could help China reach a “positive tipping point”, in which clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, up to three years earlier than expected and put on track Beijing’s zero-emission goal by 2060, according to scientists.

While such a mandate would be more powerful than carbon market trading and subsidies to boost the renewable energy sector, it would require structural changes to the country’s power system and economic model, according to Simon Sharpe, director of S-Curve Economics, a UK-based non-profit research organisation.

“There’s no reason to think that China could not phase out coal and move towards a close-to-zero-emission power system by the mid 2040s,” Sharpe told the South China Morning Post last week.

China had earlier announced a “phase down” of coal usage nationwide from 2026, and have 80 per cent of its total energy mix coming from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2060, the year it has targeted to become carbon neutral.

Simon Sharpe, director of S-Curve Economics, a UK-based non-profit research organisation. Photo: UK Solar Summit

“There needs to be an evolution of existing policies,” Sharpe said.