Confusion surrounds China’s energy policies as GDP and climate goals clash

A man tends to vegetables growing in a field as emissions rise from cooling towers at a coal-fired power station in Anhui province, China. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

China’s energy policies are fast creating a type of “emissions ambiguity”, as the twin goals of boosting GDP growth and reducing carbon emissions come into conflict.

The uncertainty is whether and when the world’s biggest carbon emitter will start to curb greenhouse gas pollution. The release of the country’s annual statistics communique on Tuesday did not clear things up.