The latest figures from the Nepal–Tibet disaster: 1,127 dead and more than 4,800 missing in Nepal; 16 dead and 546 missing in China. This tragedy was caused by a glacier collapse in Nepal on 26 August, almost certainly the result of long-term warming destabilising the ice. Chinese scientists have pointed out that “powerful destructive force and wide-reaching impact are the new and prominent features of cryospheric disasters due to global warming”. Western media coverage of this disaster has focused almost exclusively on slandering China over alleged censorship. Very few journalists have shown the slightest interest in the causes of the disaster. This Xinhua commentary, by contrast, states loudly and clearly that what happened is part of a climate catastrophe demanding global action. It cites the IPCC on climate-driven displacement and on flood and drought-related food insecurity in Africa. It cites the UN Scientific Advisory Board’s June briefing warning that several Earth sub-systems are approaching or already crossing tipping points, including polar ice sheets whose melting could raise sea levels by metres over coming centuries. It notes that low-lying island states face increasing threats. Describing Europe’s heatwaves this summer, estimated to have caused more than 30,000 excess deaths, it concludes: “No corner of the world is immune to climate crises. This is precisely why no country can face it alone.” This isn’t mere rhetoric on China’s part; China is walking the walk, with by far the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. Perhaps the West is smearing China as a means of deflecting from its own failures on climate action. 🤔 The Himalayas are the fastest-warming mountain range on earth. Their rivers provide water to two billion people. Glacial lakes are multiplying and bursting. There is every chance that similar tragedies will strike, impacting people throughout Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. A responsible global response is to privilege cooperation and solidarity over Cold War propaganda, and to follow China’s lead on renewable energy and climate adaptation.

Solar is now China’s single largest power source by installed capacity. The country’s installed photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts at the end of July, overtaking coal for the first time. PV now accounts for over 30 percent of total installed capacity, and represents more than 40 percent of capacity added in 2026. To give a frame of comparison: China’s solar capacity alone is now around ten times Britain’s entire generating capacity, from all sources. Under the current five-year plan, another 2,800 gigawatts of renewable capacity is to be integrated by 2030 – roughly double the whole installed capacity of the US. It’s important to note that installed capacity is not the same as generation. Solar produced 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours from January to July, which is 13 percent of China’s electricity consumption. Liu Zhiqiang of the China Electricity Council notes that PV is intermittent and volatile, that its utilisation hours are far below coal’s, and that “in the short term, coal-fired power will remain a major source of support for the power system in China”. However, China is working rapidly on technological innovation, and plans to generate around 6 trillion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually by 2030, with over 4 trillion from wind and solar, alongside integrated PV-storage systems and PV hydrogen production. The trajectory is clear. Coal supplied around 80 percent of China’s electricity at the start of this century. It fell below 50 percent of output in the first half of this year. Carbon emissions appear to have peaked in 2023, some seven years ahead of target. The global significance of this is arguably even more important than the domestic. China manufactures over 80 percent of the world’s solar modules and 70 percent of its wind equipment. That industrial scale is why the cost of renewable energy globally is a fraction of what it did 15 years ago. This collapse in price is the single most important factor making decarbonisation viable for much of the Global South. Cuba, under an illegal blockade and suffering daily blackouts, has installed around 1,000 megawatts of Chinese solar in two years. Zambia is getting a solar plant with battery storage in every one of its 156 constituencies. Africa’s clean energy boom runs on Chinese equipment. Meanwhile, the US is dismantling its clean energy industry while ramping up drilling. Britain is opening new North Sea fields. The EU puts tariffs on Chinese EVs and solar panels that could help cut its emissions. China’s remarkable progress in renewable energy is the product of long-term state direction, sustained public investment and the deliberate construction of a complete industrial chain over two decades – that is, the things Western journalists and politicians consistently denounce as distortion and overcapacity. A global energy transition is being made possible by Chinese socialism. Thanks, China!