In Jinan, the paradox of China, the world’s leading polluter and leader of the ecological transition

An installer shows the solar panels he has just installed on the roof of a farmer in the rural suburb of Jinan, Shandong province, China, March 21, 2024. NG HAN GUAN / AP The dynamic capital of Shandong province alone could embody China’s ambivalence in the climate crisis. The country which emits by far the most CO2 – a third of global emissions for a little less than a fifth of the Earth’s population – is also the one which, by far also, makes the most efforts to install energy renewable. The city of Jinan, bordered by the Yellow River to the north and the sacred Mount Tai to the south, with its more than 5 million inhabitants, is under permanent construction; Both fields of solar panels and brand new coal-fired power stations are emerging from the ground. “There is still a lot of coal consumption because otherwise we would not have enough electricity, but we can imagine that one day green energies will replace it,” notes Chen Ying, who lives in the western edge of the city. This 36-year-old woman and her family are directly benefiting from the change. In 2023, at the beginning of summer, representatives of a solar panel installation company, mandated by the State, came to approach them to offer to associate them with the photovoltaic acceleration policy, in paying them to generate electricity on the roof of their house. At first, the housewife and her husband, a truck driver, were suspicious: were they not being asked for their property rights in order to usurp it or do some other scam? But neighbors had already taken the plunge and the offer was attractive. It took only one day of work to install the panels, without having to do anything or spend anything. The family has since received 60 yuan per panel per year, 3,600 yuan in total, or 460 euros, a significant additional income. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers China, champion of renewable energies… and addicted to coal Add to your selections Everywhere around Jinan such programs are appearing, because China has broken away from the pack in terms of installing renewable energies. It builds almost two-thirds of the planet’s solar and wind projects, according to the San Francisco-based NGO Global Energy Monitor, eight times more than the projects underway in the United States. In July, six years ahead of schedule, it reached its goal of having installed 1,200 gigawatts of solar and wind power by 2030, while the European Union is at 480 gigawatts. But, in fact, 59.6% of Chinese electricity still came from coal in the first half of 2024. This figure, which fell below the 60% threshold, illustrates the difficulty in integrating these photovoltaic capacities into networks and managing them. stably. You have 75.35% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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