China’s Energy Policy Is a Darker Shade of Green

China is simultaneously ramping up investment in both renewables and coal, raising uncomfortable questions for investors as well as climate activists

China is both the world’s largest energy user and its largest producer of renewable power, meaning the success or failure of the low-carbon revolution will to a large extent be made in China. For the planet and investors alike, prospects are mixed.

The country’s fiscal response to the coronavirus downturn is giving new impetus to its renewable energy build-out after a slowdown in the mid and late 2010s. But China is also developing new coal power at the fastest rate in years. As of early June, there were 249.6 gigawatts of...