US warns against Asian coal power expansions

Plans to add 500GW of coal-fired capacity could undo progress on emissions in US and Europe, climate envoy John Kerry tells IEA forum

Planned expansions of coal-fired power capacity in Asia could cancel out all the progress made on curbing emissions in the US and Europe over the last 15 years if they go ahead, warned John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate. “We know that there is 500GW of incipient coal-fired power waiting to come online in Asia, which will undo everything that we have done in Europe and in the US over these last ten or 15 years,” Kerry told an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Paris-based IEA. China’s buildout of renewables capacity, which exceeds capacity of the rest of the world put together, could see some of the planned coal-fired capacity shelved, Kerry said. He acknowledged Chi