Update: Have China's emissions finally peaked? | Zero: The Climate Race

This episode was originally recorded in July 2025, and updated in December 2025. Happy Holidays from the Zero team.
When exactly China’s emissions peak will make a big difference to the fate of the planet. That moment has come, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. A combination of factors – including a huge deployment of renewables and electrification of transport – has put China’s emissions into a structural decline. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Myllyvirta how confident he is that this really is a peak? What’s behind the decline in emissions? And how will the trade war with the US affect China’s climate and energy policies in the years to come?
Explore further:
Lauri's latest analysis (https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-...) for Carbon Brief.
Global Carbon Budget analysis. (https://globalcarbonbudget.org/key-ta...)
Analysis: Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time - Carbon Brief (https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-...)
China Set to Reach Peak Emissions Before 2030, Ex-Official Says - Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...)
China’s Solar Industry Gathers as Gloom Deepens Over Demand — Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...)
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Zero is about the tactics and technologies taking us to a world of zero emissions. Each week Bloomberg’s award-winning reporter Akshat Rathi talks to the people tackling climate change – a venture capitalist hunting for the best cleantech investment, scientists starting companies, politicians who have successfully created climate laws, and CEOs who have completely transformed their businesses. The road to zero emissions has many paths and everyone’s got an opinion about the best route. Listen in.

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