China approved the equivalent of two new large coal plants each week last year even as the United States and other Western nations prioritized renewable energy.

As worldwide energy costs increase amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and persistent supply chain bottlenecks, Chinese authorities approved 106 gigawatts of new coal power projects in 2022, more than quadrupling the 23 gigawatts approved in 2021, according to an analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

“Coal power plant permitting, construction starts and new project announcements accelerated dramatically in China in 2022, with new permits reaching the highest level since 2015,” the clean energy organization said. “The coal power capacity starting construction in China was six times as large as that in all of the rest of the world combined.”

Developers in the United States have meanwhile transitioned away from coal: nearly one-quarter of the nation’s 201 gigawatts of coal power capacity is slated to be retired by 2029, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Companies have not reported any future plans to construct new coal facilities as of September 2022.

The decline in coal power comes amid the increased prevalence of natural gas and incentives from the Biden administration to prioritize growth in the renewable energy sector. Some $369 billion in climate initiatives and subsidies were approved in the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year to combat “the existential crisis of climate change.”

Other Western countries have likewise emphasized a transition toward renewable energy, a policy priority which has been tested by soaring power costs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen admitted that low hydropower generation, which occurred as a result of low river capacity, is partially responsible for the heightened cost pressures across the continent, although she said the “effects of climate change” were to blame for the low water levels.

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Germany reverted last year to importing and burning coal as natural gas prices increased more than tenfold compared to normal levels, which followed Russia decreasing natural gas exports to the European Union. Other countries such as France and Spain have asked or mandated residents to reduce energy consumption; the United Kingdom greenlit expensive stimulus measures to assist citizens with soaring electricity bills.

China was nevertheless responsible for 26.1% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions as of 2018, according to data from the International Energy Agency, surpassing the 13.4% of worldwide emissions produced by the United States and the 7.6% of worldwide emissions produced by members of the European Union. Skeptics of governments which encourage the renewable energy transition have observed that higher emissions from China, as well as India and developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, are outpacing emissions declines in the West.

“Hundreds of brand-new coal power plants will make meeting China’s climate commitments more complicated and costly. The politically influential owners of the plants have an interest in protecting their assets and avoiding a rapid build-out of clean energy and a phase-out of coal,” the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air acknowledged. “The continued addition of new coal power capacity implies insufficient emphasis on overcoming the power system and power market constraints that perpetuate dependence on coal.”

The Index of Economic Freedom published annually by researchers at the Heritage Foundation indicated on Monday that the degree of liberty offered by the American economy has continued to decline over the past year.

The conservative think tank granted the United States a rating of 70.6, constituting a decline of 1.5 points since last year and the nation’s lowest score in the history of the project. The “size and scope of government” was identified as one of the most salient factors weighing upon the American economy.

“The world and America are at a crossroads. Too many countries have renounced basic economic principles leaving communities to suffer the consequences,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a press release. “They must choose either the narrow path of self-governance, human dignity, and ordered liberty, or the broad path of an economy run by the managerial elite with no room for dissent or responsibility. One path leads to prosperity, and the other leads to ruin.”

The United States retained high ratings in categories such as property rights, investment freedom, and business freedom. The nation’s lowest ranking comes in the domain of government spending since public debt is more than 128% of gross domestic product.

“The United States has one of the world’s most dynamic economies but has been undergoing policy challenges that undermine its long-term economic competitiveness,” the think tank said. “Since assuming office in 2021, President Joseph Biden has pursued and implemented policies that have expanded the size and scope of the federal government. Unchecked deficit spending and government debt have accelerated, and inflation undercuts economic livelihood.”

Biden has claimed that he presided over a “record decrease” in deficit spending over the past two years. Although he oversaw a decline in the deficit from $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021 to $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022, according to data from the Office of Management and Budget, he has failed to mention that the record spending occurred as a result of legislation passed to mitigate fallout from the lockdown-induced recession. The deficit posted last year still significantly exceeds those witnessed in the years before the crisis.

Although the United States ranked twenty-fifth in both the 2022 and 2023 indices, the global average economic freedom score declined from 60.0 to 59.3 over the same period. Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, and Taiwan are the world’s highest-ranked economies for economic liberty.

Heritage Foundation research fellow Anthony Kim commented that the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, has inhibited the economies of the United States and other nations. “Economic freedom correlates significantly with overall well-being, which includes such factors as health, education, the environment, innovation, societal progress, and democratic governance,” he said in the press release. “The true path to ensuring environmental, social, and governance improvements lies in focusing on policies that enhance economic freedom.”

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Critics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy seeks outcomes in social causes, such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving racial diversity, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profit maximization. The movement is popular in Europe and elsewhere in the developed world.