China is a global leader in renewable energy investment, but is also responsible for just over half of global coal consumption – a large portion of which is used for electricity generation. Cleaning up China’s electricity mix will be crucial to combatting the climate crisis, but the nation still has a long way to go. 

A dirty electricity phaseout would include the decommissioning of fossil fuel powered electrical plants and other infrastructure, and their replacement by cleaner sources of energy. Decommissioning dirty electricity will mean shutting down many Chinese fossil-powered plants well before their expected end of life, as using recently built fossil fuel-burning plants for their full lifespan is fundamentally incompatible with achieving climate goals. This can constitute a barrier to the phaseout of dirty electricity, given the financial losses faced by investors. Still, System Change Lab has predicted that our global reliance on coal needs to drop sharply from 37% of global power generation in 2019 to no more than 2.5% by 2030. On the other hand, however, replacing those plants with clean energy also stands to provide a huge boost to economic growth.

It is crucial that this phaseout process is done equitably, preparing workers in the fossil fuel industry for new jobs in renewable energy or other fields. It’s also important to consider what is done with the physical infrastructure left behind to ensure no toxic pollutants remain in vulnerable communities.

Discard 1 card from your hand, then remove 1 Dirty Energy token from your player board for each Regulation tag in this card's stack.

• Phase out unabated coal and fossil gas electricity generation (Systems Change Lab)

• How to phase out fossil fuels without leaving people behind (World Resources Institute, WRI)

• A guide to Chinese Climate Policy (Columbia University New York City)

• Donate to an organization that works to improve access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. Sustainable Energy for All, for example, aims to ensure everybody has access to such energy by 2030.

• Support clean energy initiatives in your community, for example those that install solar panels or support community energy projects.

• Ask your political representatives to push for the phaseout of fossil fueled energy, and say no to new fossil plants and fossil-energy extraction.