The climate catastrophe is here, whether governments face it or not

As part of its climate efforts, Beijing pledged to no longer build coal projects overseas. But that comes with its own downstream effects. “The risk with China’s announcement is that if coal plants are not funded, countries might just turn to gas,” Christine Shearer, program director for coal at Global Energy Monitor, told my colleagues. “New gas plants running for 30 or 40 years is also not compatible with the Paris climate agreement.” He added: “We are talking about countries that are still building up the power systems. They are asking, ‘If we want to go the route of just solar and wind, what are the examples?’ And there really aren’t any.”