{"id":335993,"date":"2024-07-09T12:57:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T10:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335993"},"modified":"2024-07-09T12:57:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T10:57:25","slug":"china-is-the-coal-furnace-of-the-world-and-everyone-is-fine-with-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335993","title":{"rendered":"China is the coal furnace of the world, and everyone is fine with that"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
CHANGJI, CHINA – JULY 04: Transport trucks transfer raw coal in pits as deep as 200 meters at the East Junggar Basin on July 4, 2018 in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous of China. The East Junggar Basin as one of the largest coalfield in Xinjiang has predicted coal reserves of 390 billion tons. (Photo by Liu Xin\/China News Service\/VCG)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From JoNova <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though India now consumes more than Europe and the US combined,<\/a> there is really only one coal consumer. Just to update those figures\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Remember you are a planet-wrecker, but China just has growing pains<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

China burns four times as much coal as the second largest coal burner in the world. Everyone else is an also-ran in the coal stakes. For every ton the US consumes, China fries 12 times as much. And poor patsy Australia, for every ton we apologetically ignite, China burns 50. More coal was burned on Earth in 2023 t<\/a>han ever before in human history, and more than half of it was burned in China. Moreover, despite all the Sino nodding to sacred targets, China shows no intention of putting the brakes on the coal train. Around the world, 95% of all new coal power plants built in 2023  were built in China<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is the apoplexy?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The UN has met every year for twenty-eight years to badger everyone to stop using coal to appease the Goddess of Trace Gases and Weird Weather \u2014 all while China became the coal furnace of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or perhaps The UN met every year, so<\/em><\/strong> China could do exactly that? Lord above, imagine if the bureaucratic starlets of the West could be bought off so easily by trophies, trinkets and photo-opportunities \u2014 as a trade strategy, it would be a bargain. And it surely was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow life on Earth depends on Just-Stop-Oil protestors, but they can\u2019t seem to find the Chinese Embassy. Banker cartels threaten higher interest rates for naughty nations,<\/a> but no one suggests so much as a boycott of solar panels made with coal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 We\u2019re all in this together, eh?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Supposedly, the developed world caused all the bad weather we have today \u2014 leaving the developing world to wallow in the suffering of the coal plants and cars the West invented. But, the developing world just landed a rocket on the moon<\/a> and bought back some moon-rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time NASA did that it was 1972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fork in the road for civilization<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In a sense, the diverging lines of coal consumption mark the rise and fall of civilizations. They don\u2019t have to \u2014 not if the West had upscaled to some better industrial power. But the West upscaled to witchcraft and corruption instead, arrogantly trying to control the weather itself with our power plants in a teenage fashion contest. China took our mistake and smiled and egged us on. They would be crazy if they didn\u2019t support the Greens, and pay off our politicians to cripple our grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As CO2 Lover says in comments, it is the Sun Tzu Art of War. \u201cThe supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though India now consumes more than Europe and the US combined, there is really only one coal consumer. Just to update those figures\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":335997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691819635,691818237,691824179],"class_list":["post-335993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-coal","tag-india","tag-united-nations-un","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0-China-coal.jpg?fit=3017%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1ppf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":395663,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=395663","url_meta":{"origin":335993,"position":0},"title":"Choosing the Positive Reality of Hydrocarbons Over \u2018Green\u2019 Fantasies","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/17\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"British multinational BP has announced its largest oil and gas discovery in 25 years in Brazil\u2019s Santos Basin. By 2030, daily production is expected to be 2.3 to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, which leaves little doubt that the company is solidly committed to hydrocarbons after a brief flirtation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Brazil\u2019s Santos Basin\"","block_context":{"text":"Brazil\u2019s Santos Basin","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=brazils-santos-basin"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQMMmmeQO3hUU5QPhkldsFoCkTPc8FH1XNjTxq2lJmDBC0rkwv4Pjua1uUJKbccrj2stRFSrTG-n0FyWr-vVmYfZg_SbkyzNeqIbXA8b_E3MulAWP49hbIkKyg8gJgAiM6-nf-hemNRtTHFo1Ys2Gbqqr3ftkA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQMMmmeQO3hUU5QPhkldsFoCkTPc8FH1XNjTxq2lJmDBC0rkwv4Pjua1uUJKbccrj2stRFSrTG-n0FyWr-vVmYfZg_SbkyzNeqIbXA8b_E3MulAWP49hbIkKyg8gJgAiM6-nf-hemNRtTHFo1Ys2Gbqqr3ftkA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQMMmmeQO3hUU5QPhkldsFoCkTPc8FH1XNjTxq2lJmDBC0rkwv4Pjua1uUJKbccrj2stRFSrTG-n0FyWr-vVmYfZg_SbkyzNeqIbXA8b_E3MulAWP49hbIkKyg8gJgAiM6-nf-hemNRtTHFo1Ys2Gbqqr3ftkA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQMMmmeQO3hUU5QPhkldsFoCkTPc8FH1XNjTxq2lJmDBC0rkwv4Pjua1uUJKbccrj2stRFSrTG-n0FyWr-vVmYfZg_SbkyzNeqIbXA8b_E3MulAWP49hbIkKyg8gJgAiM6-nf-hemNRtTHFo1Ys2Gbqqr3ftkA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQMMmmeQO3hUU5QPhkldsFoCkTPc8FH1XNjTxq2lJmDBC0rkwv4Pjua1uUJKbccrj2stRFSrTG-n0FyWr-vVmYfZg_SbkyzNeqIbXA8b_E3MulAWP49hbIkKyg8gJgAiM6-nf-hemNRtTHFo1Ys2Gbqqr3ftkA-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":439140,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=439140","url_meta":{"origin":335993,"position":1},"title":"Coal Isn\u2019t Dying in China\u2014It\u2019s Becoming Beijing\u2019s Ultimate Sovereign Weapon","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/13\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Coal's strategic role in China is that of a deliberate, sovereign anchor\u2014abundant domestic \"ballast stone\" (\u5b9a\u6d77\u795e\u9488) that delivers energy independence, grid reliability, industrial competitiveness, and military resilience while enabling the world's fastest renewables buildout.","rel":"","context":"In \"15th Five-Year Plan\"","block_context":{"text":"15th Five-Year Plan","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=15th-five-year-plan"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Coal-as-Chinas-Weapon-of-Sovereign-Power.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Coal-as-Chinas-Weapon-of-Sovereign-Power.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Coal-as-Chinas-Weapon-of-Sovereign-Power.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Coal-as-Chinas-Weapon-of-Sovereign-Power.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":273840,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273840","url_meta":{"origin":335993,"position":2},"title":"King Coal Outdistancing Wind\/Solar\/Hydro\/Other Renewables","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/16\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2022, coal accounted for 35.4% of global electric generation, followed by natural gas (22.7%), hydro (14.9%), nuclear (9.2%), wind (7.2%), solar (4.5%), geothermal, biomass, and other renewables (3.6%).","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":293208,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293208","url_meta":{"origin":335993,"position":3},"title":"The world will not stop burning coal and using oil","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/30\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"John Kerry tilts at reality like Don Quixote tilted at windmills. 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