Fossil fuels must keep a role, new China climate chief says

Cleaner power sources should eventually dominate the global power mix, though fossil fuels will continue to be required, according to China’s top climate diplomat.

Governments globally need to massively scale up deployments of solar, wind and hydropower, and also be prepared to utilize dirtier fuels in a manner that limits their pollution, Liu Zhenmin, China’s special envoy for climate change, said Wednesday. He also said it was important for China-US cooperation in the area to continue despite challenges. 

“We will still keep our fair share of fossil fuels, but they must be used in a clean way,” Liu — who replaced veteran negotiator Xie Zhenhua this year — told the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, China. “I think that is critical.”

China leads the world in installations of renewables, though it burned record amounts of coal, oil and gas last year. The nation is also continuing to add coal-fired power capacity, even if officials insist the fleet will eventually act mainly as a backup to its cleaner generation sources. 

Liu’s predecessor Xie told a Beijing conference in September that fossil fuels would remain essential to maintain grid stability and that completely abandoning the energy source is “unrealistic.” China aims to lift its use of technologies like carbon-capture, intended to curb pollution from the use of coal or gas. 

Maintaining Ties

Xie and former US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry had a famously close relationship that helped keep climate cooperation alive between the world’s two biggest emitters despite rising geopolitical tensions. Liu said on the sidelines of his panel that he has already had several video conferences with his new US counterpart, John Podesta, and the two will maintain bilateral communications going forward.

“The climate alliance between China and the US is crucial and sets the agenda for the global fight against climate change,” he said. 

Still, the relationship faces challenges, such as US restrictions on China’s clean energy exports, Liu said. Such technology is beneficial to the global fight against climate change, and trade barriers increase the cost of clean energy overseas, slowing adoption, he said. 

The world needs to improve efforts to protect carbon sinks like wetlands, rain forests and oceans, Liu told the forum. And while governments should spearhead climate action, companies and individuals also need to contribute by conserving energy and living low-carbon lifestyles, he said.