Webinar: The Future of Coal in China

A slowdown in electricity consumption growth and a drop in thermal power generation in China has led to a pronounced overcapacity of coal-fired electricity generators. 

The drop in demand for coal has driven many coal companies into debt, generating calls for subsidies to prop up the industry. This webinar will explore how to address overcapacity and coal subsidies and transition to a more sustainable electricity sector.

Coal has been at the centre of China’s coal generators and producers have received favourable treatment including access to finance and guaranteed power purchase agreements. This has led to rising coal generation overcapacity and driven curtailment of renewable generation.

This webinar, organized by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and Greenpeace will enable participants to:

• Understand the recent trends in energy demand, coal generation capacity and utilisation of coal and renewable generators;
• Understand how subsidies have been provided to coal producers and generators; how reliance on coal use has led to negative environmental externalities and how coal policy has impacted the electricity sector;
• Learn more about how the challenges of overcapacity and increasing indebtedness of coal companies;
• Explore potential solutions including how regulatory measures can restrict the construction of new capacity and whether pricing of externalities help to rebalance the electricity system. 
• Examine recent political trends and opportunities for reform.

The event will be moderated by Peter Wooders, Group Director, Energy, International Institute for Sustainable Development. The webinar will draw on recent research from the IISD Global Subsidies Initiative on Subsidies to Coal Production in China and Coal and Renewables in China. 

Speakers will include:

• Lauri Myllyvirta, Greenpeace
• Richard Bridle, Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute for Sustainable Development
• Hongxia Duan, Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute for Sustainable Development

The webinar is on June 15, 2016, at 10:00 CEST, 16:00 CST. 

Click here to register. 

The webinar will be in English.