China cuts electricity emissions

Surging clean power supplies have allowed China's utilities to reduce their emissions from electricity production to record lows during the opening half of 2025.

- Gavin Maguire

Carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity averaged 492 grammes during the opening half of 2025, according to data from energy portal electricitymaps.com.

That was the first ever reading below 500 grams per kWh, and is down from 514g/kWh during the same period in 2024 and 539g/kWh from January to June 2023.

A nearly 23% rise in clean power generation from January to June 2024 was the main driver behind the reduction in emissions intensity, as higher volumes of clean energy allowed power firms to reduce output from coal and gas power plants.

Total power generation from thermal power plants — mainly coal — dropped by 4% from a year ago to just under 7,000 terawatt hours (TWh), data from LSEG shows.

Output from clean energy sources from January to June totalled 2,400 TWh, highlighting that fossil fuel power sources still account for a 75% share of China's power generation mix.