Co-founder and lead analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air; senior fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute: tracking & accelerating progress from polluting energy to clean air, with research and evidence.https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mvsaxanbx22mThe past few months saw the release of a dozen sectoral five-year plans dealing with energy, industry, emissions and the environment by different government bodies. Our China team has put together a guide to what they all mean. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Sep 2026 13:17 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvsaxanbx22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mvox2d4tvc2wNEW from us: India's rapid clean power expansion has kept power sector emissions flat for two years, for the first time in over 50 years, and sharply reduced fossil fuel imports. Oil and gas consumption have also fallen for two years in a row, helping alleviate the Hormuz shock. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 05:42 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvox2d4tvc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mvjvoozdjk22Power generation from coal and gas fell 4% in China in August, as solar and wind covered all electricity demand growth and hydropower and nuclear grew as well. Cement production fell 12%, crude steel 4% and oil refinery output 7%, indicating emission reductions across the board.15 Sep 2026 05:34 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvjvoozdjk22https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mvjp4h7oxs2oThere's increasing speculation that China is returning to the oil market, but no sign of it in tanker loading data. Rather looks like they're having to pay more to keep imports from falling even further. This is tanker departures which show up as imports with several weeks' lag.15 Sep 2026 03:37 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvjp4h7oxs2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mvjp2vty6s2oCheap drones have made reliance on oil and gas very very expensive. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/14/saudi-pipeline-drone-attack-houthis-global-oil-supply-prices?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other15 Sep 2026 03:36 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvjp2vty6s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mulstxl5lk2tNEW from me: China's CO2 emissions fell by 1% in the second quarter of 2026, as oil consumption plummeted amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis, with EVs and public transport among the key factors. Oil consumption fell by 9% overall and by 16% for transport. 🧵 [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Sep 2026 06:24 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mulstxl5lk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mujbxawj4s2oThis headline is of course entirely symbolic - coal still generates almost four times as much electricity and about 8 times as much total energy as solar in China. The much bigger milestone is that coal generated less than 50% of China's power in the first half of 2026.02 Sep 2026 06:16 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujbxawj4s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mtxrt5hmhk23Breaking: The fossil fuel shock caused by the closure of the Hormuz has cost $330 bn in fuel import costs in the past six months. The cost of the crisis equals all global investments in renewable power in 2025, on a per-month average basis. [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Aug 2026 07:12 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtxrt5hmhk23https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mtivvbmsjs2uThe falling trend in China's coal-fired power generation isn't limited to July: coal power has now been falling for eight weeks straigth, from mid-June to mid-August. The second week of August saw a sharp 12% drop year-on-year. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Aug 2026 09:15 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtivvbmsjs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mtbcfcmajs27Steep drop in China's CO2 emissions in July: -power generation from coal&gas -3.5% -coal mine output -10% in July, -3% year-to-date -cement output -12% in July, -9% YTD -crude steel output -4%, -3% -oil refining -16%, -7%17 Aug 2026 08:38 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbcfcmajs27https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mt4w3fvlcs2yThree Chinese energy specialists respond to my analysis of China's carbon intensity data, which showed that China changed the numbers in a way that erased a major shortfall to 2025 target and enabled a weak 2030 target.15 Aug 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4w3fvlcs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mszirae2rs2qNew, in-depth work by our Indonesia team and data team, identifying the worst air pollutant emission hotspots in Indonesia and proposing solutions. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszirae2rs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mszao54tws24EVs made up over 60% of all vehicles sold by Chinese automakers in July, and 50% year-to-date, both for the first time. They reached a 68% share of domestic passenger car sales and over 50% of vehicle exports.14 Aug 2026 03:45 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszao54tws24https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mswsskxhkk2jFirst severe oil spill caused by a shadow tanker carrying Russian oil. I hope coastal states finally get serious about the risk and about addressing it.13 Aug 2026 04:32 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mswsskxhkk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3msui6ea7ic2wChina's wind power capacity additions in the first half of 2026 were 39GW, much higher than any year before the record-setting 2025. Solar capacity additions, at 72GW, are down sharply from 2025 but tied with 2023 which saw over 200GW added during the full year.12 Aug 2026 06:16 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3msui6ea7ic2whttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3msi4z2ck3s2fNew validation of our near-real-time tracking of EU CO2 emissions finds that we get within 0.5%-points of data released by government and academics with a much longer delay, while providing much more granular estimates by sector and day/week/month.07 Aug 2026 08:25 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3msi4z2ck3s2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3msfudd3zqk2dNew from us: China's coal-fired power generation rebounded in the first half of 2026. Rapid expansion of coal power capacity led to worsening oversupply, reflected both in the increase of wasted wind and solar generation and in falling utilisation of coal power plants. [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Aug 2026 10:44 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfudd3zqk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3msd2t5w5fc2dOECD power generation from gas has seen a significant drop in the five months since LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz were first disrupted. This has not resulted in an increase in coal-fired generation as solar and wind have covered demand growth and the fall in gas.05 Aug 2026 08:02 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3msd2t5w5fc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3ms6ommtvu22bThese two roles are open for application until Friday - but the sooner the better as I'm already working through the applications. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Aug 2026 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6ommtvu22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3ms6dohbd7c22Trade data for July will soon show significant jumps in oil imports for China, Japan and South Korea, compared to June. This might seem a return to the market but it's just a delayed effect of the brief re-opening of Hormuz in June; tanker departures have now fallen back down.03 Aug 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6dohbd7c22https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mrasevfprc22Electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, made up over half of China's auto exports for the first time in June. See our monthly snapshot for a lot more on China's energy trends. 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Jul 2026 17:01 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrasevfprc22https://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mr5a66jkls2wJOB OPPORTUNITY: Come work with me to produce timely, high-impact analysis of the biggest developments in energy, economy and air pollution! We're looking for a data scientist to produce cutting edge analysis and an insights analyst to turn it into high-quality briefings.21 Jul 2026 06:57 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5a66jkls2whttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mqvooc2gfs2gOne of the main factors balancing the oil market has been the Saudi East-West pipeline to Yanbu port. The pipeline and facilities at each end are vulnerable to attacks. Iran definitely still has the ability to cause a full-blown global oil crisis if it chooses to do so. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jul 2026 06:55 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqvooc2gfs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mqvoljzvis2gA striking, touching illustration of the shifting baseline syndrome. To someone from two generations ago, what we think of as beautiful, unspoiled nature would seem, or in this case, sound, like an almost barren landscape with just a couple of odd survivor species hanging on. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jul 2026 06:53 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqvoljzvis2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mqrk75bk322hUkraine has shown that redundancy, distributed generation & storage and heroic repair crews can keep the lights on and grids up under relentless attacks. The lessons from Russia's invasion, Ukraine's counter strikes nor war on Iran haven't begun to be internalized in the rest of the world. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Jul 2026 15:24 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrk75bk322hhttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mqr77sypas2wThere's no fossil fuel based energy security in the age of ubiquitous cheap long-range attack drones.16 Jul 2026 12:08 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqr77sypas2whttps://bsky.app/profile/laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social/post/3mqr6ycrnvk2rChina's thermal (coal&gas-fired) power generation continued to rebound in June (+0.5%) and Q2 (+2%) but remained below its 2023 peak. Oil refinery throughput plummeted by 18%, showing role of consumption cuts and product inventories in absorbing the sharp fall in imports.16 Jul 2026 12:04 +0000at://did:plc:5buzphfdtce4ev3ukud2gf37/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqr6ycrnvk2r