Coal-mad China’s bid to boost image

CHINA has stepped forward to replace the US as a world leader on climate change.

Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will bolster China’s global stature and help it profit from renewable energy investment, an expert predicts.

That is despite China being the top emitter of greenhouse gases and by far the world’s largest consumer of coal.

In a joint statement yesterday, the EU and China said action on climate change was ‘more important than ever’ and both committed to ‘significantly intensify’ their efforts. Nick Mabey, of the climate change think tank E3G, said it was the ‘strongest bilateral statement on climate’ he had seen, adding: ‘President Trump has driven the EU and China together to write the rules for the clean economy.’

Coal still accounted for 62 per cent of China’s total energy consumption in 2016. In January, it suspended or cancelled plans to build another 100 coal-fueled power plants.

But dozens more are still expected to be built.