Chinese government officials must think their Western counterparts are a gaggle of the gullible.
China built or oversaw construction of more than half of new coal-power plants last year, at the same time its President Xi joined nearly 200 other world leaders in pledging an end to the use of coal at the COP26 climate summit.
China claims that its policies aren’t in conflict because the new coal plants are designed to reduce a growing number of nationwide power shortages. That goal appears to be separate from the fairytale it tells Western leaders: China’s coal companies have been asked to increase output by 300 million more tons this year. The country relies on coal for 60 percent of its electricity needs.
“Energy security has become sort of a code word for coal, rather than for reliable supply of energy,” said a spokesman for Greenpeace.