China announces its wind and solar power capacity exceeds thermal for the first time

"In the first quarter of 2025, new installations (solar and wind, editor's note) totaled 74,33 million kilowatts, bringing the total grid capacity to 1,482 billion kilowatts," the Chinese energy authority said in a statement.

This exceeds "for the first time the installed capacity of thermal energy (1,451 billion kilowatts)," she added without defining what falls into this category.

China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, has pledged to cap its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

While 60% of China's energy comes from coal, the country is also building nearly twice as much wind and solar capacity as all other countries combined, according to a study published last year.

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that China's efforts to combat global warming "will not slow down" "regardless of how the international situation evolves," as Donald Trump launched a move to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Xi also indicated that China would announce its new climate commitments for 2035 before COP30 in November and that these commitments would cover all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide.