Chinese energy consumption will grow in 2016, the country’s official news agency said on Tuesday, and its share of renewable energy sources will go up as well.
China will consume 5.7 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2016, Reuters reports, citing officials quoted Tuesday by news agency Xinhua. That’s a small increase after energy consumption there grew at less than 1 percent in 2015.
{mosads}China will use 3.96 billion metric tons of coal next year, but coal’s share of the country’s energy needs will fall from 64.4 percent to 62.6 percent, officials said.
The country will also close more than 1,000 coal mines and put a three-year moratorium on approving new projects starting in March.
Non-fossil fuels in China will see a slight boost in usage there next year, to 13.2 percent from 12 percent. The country will have added more than 20 gigawatts of wind power and 15 gigawatts of solar power by next year.
China is the world’s largest energy consumer and emitter of carbon pollution; its ability to clean up its energy supply is a tenet of a climate change deal reached earlier this month.
For comparison, the United States consumed 3.9 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2014, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The U.S. used 749.9 million metric tons of coal in 2015, according to the EIA.
As part of the Paris climate deal, China agreed to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. The U.S. is looking to cut its emissions between 26 percent and 28 percent.