China advances towards 2030 carbon emissions goal, cutting 4.3% thermal power consumption in May 2024

China's progressive transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, harnessed from sunlight and water for power generation, is instilling a sense of optimism. This shift, by the world's largest polluter, is a promising step towards achieving net-zero emissions, offering a beacon of hope for the global environment.  
 

Encouragingly, the usage of thermal power, which accounts for a lion's share of China's carbon footprint, was reduced by 4.3 per cent in May from the previous year, the most significant drop since 2022.

Instead, thermal power was largely replaced by hydroelectricity. In May, hydropower generation in China surged 39 per cent after heavy rains fed a recovery in Southwest China's Yunnan province, one of the world's largest hydropower-producing regions.