China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, driven by the country’s rapid expansion of renewable energy, according to a new study by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Emissions from the power sector — China’s largest source of greenhouse gases — dropped 3% during the six-month period, CREA analyst Lauri Myllyvirta wrote for the UK-based research group Carbon Brief. The decline is largely attributed to record growth in solar power capacity, which is expected to expand further this year and put China on track for a full-year reduction in emissions, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Coal use in power generation also fell 3%, though natural gas consumption for electricity rose by 6%. Emissions from building materials, metals, cement, and steel dipped amid a slowdown in China’s property sector.
However, the study noted a sharp rise in emissions from the chemicals industry, where coal use for synthetic fuels and petrochemical production grew 20% in the first half of 2025. Since 2020, coal-to-chemicals growth has added 3% to China’s overall carbon emissions, with another 2% increase projected by 2029.
China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2060. Its last reported annual decline was in 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
