China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% in the second quarter of 2026, as oil consumption plummeted amid the strait of Hormuz crisis.
The country’s use of oil fell by 9% overall and by 16% for transport, after the disruptions to supply from the Gulf through the strait. This guest post is by:
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air
China’s total CO2 emissions fell despite a continued rebound in coal-fired power generation.
This is the first time that reductions in oil consumption have been responsible for a fall in CO2 emissions overall – in all previous cases, coal consumption has been the main driver.
While the 1% decline is not particularly impressive on its own, the real significance is that it happened in spite of a massive ramp up in coal use for power generation, which has higher emissions than either oil or natural gas. Of course, all fossil-based energy must be phased out in time, but it is a good sign that even a generational energy crisis isn’t derailing China’s decarbonisation efforts.
So weird how we keep having all these generational crises every 5 years or so…