China continues to lead Asia Pacific’s energy transition, increasing 52 per cent of new solar generation in 2025 — more than the rest of the world combined — according to a report led by London-basesd nonprofit Energy Institute.
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Yet it remains the single largest source of global emissions, as the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal and a leading oil refiner, underscoring how far its energy system must shift before emissions start to fall in absolute terms, noted the study titled Statistical Review of World Energy, made in partnership with energy think tank Ember and global professional services firms KPMG and Kearney.
China’s emissions accounted for 30.5 per cent of worldwide totals in 2025, reflecting the scale of its economy and energy demand, though the growth rate has slowed sharply to just 0.3 per cent year‑on‑year as record additions of solar, wind and other low‑carbon technologies begin to moderate the trajectory, found the analysis.
For the first time in a decade, coal consumption remained effectively flat, with strong growth in clean power and lower coal use in steel offsetting small increases in other sectors.
Despite this turning point, China still produced 4.6 billion metric tonnes of coal, consumed more than half the world’s coal demand and refined 18.83 million barrels of oil per day in 2025, cementing its role at the centre of global fossil fuel supply, it said.
On the supply side, the report described China as the leading manufacturer and deployer of clean energy technologies, from solar panels and batteries to key components for wind and grid infrastructure, enabling renewables to roll out at unprecedented speed and scale at home and abroad.
This dual reality means China is simultaneously powering the global surge in clean energy and locking in future emissions through continued fossil fuel expansion, suggested the study.
“China is deploying renewables at unprecedented scale while stockpiling fossil fuels as insurance,” said Wafa Jafri, partner and United Kingdom lead for energy and natural resources strategy at KPMG UK, warning that how the Asia super power manages the tension between rapid clean energy growth and ongoing coal and oil reliance will be central to whether global climate goals remain within reach.
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China is deploying renewables at unprecedented scale while stockpiling fossil fuels as insurance.
Wafa Jafri, partner and United Kingdom lead for energy and natural resources strategy, KPMG UK
Asia Pacific’s clean surge follows suit amid dirty grids
China’s Asia Pacific neighbours likewise saw solar generation jump by almost 19 per cent and wind output by more than 21 per cent in 2025, reaching record highs, the study said.
However, coal still dominates the regional power mix and emissions in key Southeast Asian economies are rising faster than the global average.
Emissions growth in Indonesia (4.8 per cent), Vietnam (4.8 per cent) and Malaysia (2.4 per cent) exceeded the global rate, underscoring how fast‑growing economies are struggling to bend their emissions curves even as they add substantial renewable capacity, found the report.
Rapid industrialisation, continued expansion of coal‑ and gas‑fired power, and rising transport and industrial demand are pushing emissions upward, outpacing clean energy gains, it warned.
The report noted that Southeast Asia sits at the centre of this challenge. Indonesia and Vietnam, for example, have posted strong solar and wind growth, supported by auctions, earlier feed‑in tariffs and corporate power purchase agreements. Yet grid bottlenecks, slow coal retirement and limited deployment of storage and other flexibility solutions mean renewables often layer on top of existing fossil generation rather than displacing it.
