This is an IHeart podcast.

Welcome to Zero. I'm Akshadrati.

This week, have China's emissions peaked?

Everything about China tends to be big, including its planet heating impact.

China is, after all, the world's largest consumer of coal and produces nearly a third of global carbon dioxide emissions.

And that's why what China does makes a big difference

to the world's climate trajectory, even more so than what the US does. In recent years, China's

actions have tended more towards clean energy than fossil fuels. It deploys more solar power

than the rest of the world combined, and about half of all new cars sold in the country are electric.

But the conversation about China tends to miss a lot of nuance.

With the US under President Donald Trump taking big steps to reverse climate policies,

it's even more important to understand what China is doing.

That's why this week we're speaking to Lauri Mulewirta, co-founder of the Center for Research on Energy

and Clean Air, and one of the foremost experts on all things climate and energy in China.

He recently published an analysis for Carbon Brave that says China's emissions have peaked.

And they're going into reverse, not because of a financial crisis or the pandemic, but because there are structural reasons for it.

And it's the kind of good news on the climate front that has become rare these days.

Calling the peak is not easy, whether that's oil consumption or CO2 emissions.

Often, you can only be sure years after the peak has passed.

So how confident is Lowry that this really is the peak?

What's behind it?

And how will the trade war affect China's climate and energy

...