China ‘must shut 600 coal-fired plants’ to hit climate target

Move towards renewables to hit net zero by 2060 would also pay off with saving of $1.6tn, analysis finds

China must shut down nearly 600 of its coal-fired power plants in the next 10 years, replacing them with renewable electricity generation, to meet its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, a report has said.

But replacing the 364GW of coal generation with renewable power would achieve a net saving of $1.6tn (1.2tn) over the period, since wind and solar power are now much cheaper than coal, according to the analysis company TransitionZero.