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In today's edition of This Week in Climate, we saw China’s clean tech exports on track to avoid 450 million tonnes of CO2 this year, Indonesia’s worst fire season in a decade burn 4.6 million acres, US automakers urge Congress to permanently ban Chinese vehicles, and the Trump administration prop up nearly half the US coal fleet through exemptions, funding, and emergency orders.

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By Julian Moore

A Carbon Brief analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta finds that China’s exports of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles are cutting emissions well beyond its borders. At current trends, the 2026 exports will avoid about 450 million tonnes of CO2, roughly Brazil’s annual emissions or nearly 2% of global emissions outside China. Over the equipment’s lifetime, the benefit is far larger, and it is growing quickly each year.

Solar does most of the work. The biggest gains come in the global south, especially South and Southeast Asia, where panels displace carbon-heavy grids. The US is the second-largest beneficiary after India despite tariffs, which suggests strong demand. Reducing reliance on Chinese supply would require scaling up manufacturing elsewhere.

The analysis also finds that Chinese exports have mostly opened new markets rather than displacing other producers, with wind a partial exception. Because prices have fallen so sharply, though, competitors holding volumes steady have seen export values shrink and have lost market share.

China’s direct role in building overseas clean-energy projects has doubled since 2022, though it remains small next to equipment exports. Gaps persist in its pledge to stop funding overseas coal, notably in Indonesia.

Indonesia is in its worst wildfire season in a decade. More than 4.6 million acres have burned since August, and smoke has blanketed Kalimantan and Sumatra and spread to neighboring countries. Over 300,000 Indonesians have sought treatment for acute respiratory problems, and air quality on some days has been more than 13 times worse than the unhealthy threshold. Students have protested, and frustration over the fires, living costs, and government spending has fueled wider demonstrations.

A strong El Niño caused severe drought, drying out peatlands that ignite easily. Fires set by farmers or agricultural companies to clear land, often next to oil palm plantations, then spread out of control. Peat fires can smolder underground for months, evade satellite detection, and reignite even after rain. Scientists say it’s not yet clear how much climate change contributed, unlike recent wildfires in Canada and Europe.

President Prabowo Subianto called the burning a “crime against humanity” and vowed to investigate those responsible. Indonesia had prepared and made progress since 2014, with a ban on peat-draining canals, curbed deforestation, and land restoration, but experts cited in the article note that the outbreak shows how hard fire is to manage in such a large country.

On Monday, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a group representing nearly all major automakers, urged US lawmakers to pass a permanent ban on Chinese vehicles when Congress returns next week for a short session after the midterm elections.

The bipartisan Senate sponsors agreed in September to delay fast-tracking the bill until November, despite broad support. A Senate committee passed it in July, and a House version now has over 100 co-sponsors. Automakers and legislative aides hope for full passage this year, though some aides and lobbyists worry that a Democratic takeover of Congress could leave too little time before the session ends in December.

Alliance head John Bozzella argued the ban would protect the US market from Chinese imports that carry surveillance risks and disadvantage domestic manufacturers. He pointed to Europe, where in the first eight months of 2026 the EU imported more than 1.1 million vehicles from China, more than in all of 2025.

Automakers were alarmed in September when President Trump said he would accept Chinese companies building cars in the US. A Biden-era regulation from early 2025 already effectively bars Chinese automakers from selling or building passenger vehicles here over data-security concerns, and tariffs on Chinese EVs exceed 100%. China’s foreign ministry has called similar proposals “unreasonable suppression.”

An Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis finds the Trump administration is directly or indirectly supporting nearly half of the US coal fleet. Of 184 grid-connected coal plants studied, 90 have been propped up through exemptions, funding, or emergency orders. EDF argues this raises electricity bills and harms health and the climate.

Seventy plants received exemptions from Biden-era limits on toxic pollution such as mercury, nickel, arsenic, and lead. Owners could request them by emailing an EPA inbox. The EPA has since rescinded the underlying rule, though EDF’s Surbhi Sarang says legal challenges could reverse that.

EDF also says 24 plants are slated for about $950 million in Department of Energy funding. Separately, since mid-2025 the DOE has used emergency authority to force six plants to keep running. A federal court ruled in September that the first such order, for a Michigan plant, was unlawful, but the administration has kept issuing them. EDF estimates these six plants cost customers up to $593 million and caused up to $860 million in health damages through June 2026.

Coal’s share of US generation capacity fell from nearly half in 2011 to 15% in 2024, mainly because of competition from gas, solar, wind, and batteries. The DOE says its support will save about $50 billion by avoiding new generation. EDF counters that nearly all coal plants could be replaced with clean energy at a net savings.

Latest Jobs

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