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Comment by pmyjavec | Hacker News Reader

The US is not the only country that matters anymore, I don't think China will pull out no matter what US does, they are smart enough to be making money from building renewable tech for the world and onselling it. It's really in Chinese interest to encourage the shift.

This is just another race the US is losing.

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Yeah I think China will see it as an opportunity to show leadership and it will play into their attempt to shift the balance of power away from the USA.

This too!

China is building 200 GW of coal by 2020 alone http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-power-coal-idUSKCN0Z...

Since that article in July they've cancelled 60 coal plants, including many that had already started construction. The capacity they've cancelled is equal to the total coal capacity of the UK and Spain combined.

They've still got a long way to go, but the signs that they are turning the ship are clear.

http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2016/10/21/china-coal-crack...

China can simultaneously leverage coal for its own infrastructure while building technologies that could obsolete coal economically.

China already licensed every nuclear fission tech from Canada, France and Russia and lately the US as well. They have 35 operational reactors and 35 under construction.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-pro...

Well let's hope so!

China consumes more coal than the rest of the world combined, and the amount increases every year.

http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=9751

Your graph stops in 2011. They hit peak coal in 2014

http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v9/n8/full/ngeo2777.html

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