China's Coal Addiction Erodes Climate Goals
China's surprise pledge to slash its carbon footprint to zero by 2060 was met with cautious applause, but fresh spending on coal to rev up a virus-hit economy threatens to nullify its audacious bid to lead the world into a low carbon future.The fossil fuel has powered China's economic surge over the last thirty years, and the nation burns about half the coal used globally each year.Between 2000 and 2018, its annual carbon emissions nearly tripled, and it now accounts for nearly a th