Energy experts, civil society organizations, and media gathered in Taiyuan, China for the launch of "Shanxi in Transition: Toward a Harmonious and High-Quality Future."
Taiyuan, China — As the world’s largest coal producer, China’s Shanxi Province must form strong “brotherhood”, or “camaraderie”, with the richer coastal provinces who have already made remarkable progress to achieve carbon emission peak but whose economic developments have heavily depended on coal supply from Shanxi, according to energy researchers and climate activists from the province.
A new report, Shanxi in Transition: Toward a Harmonious and High-Quality Future, jointly released by Taiyuan University of Technology and the People of Asia for Climate Solutions (PACS), highlights the efforts Shanxi has made in recent years to transition away from coal reliance and outlines a vision of a diversified, resilient, and low-carbon economy. At the heart of the report is a novel proposal: the Just Energy Transition Brotherhood (JETB), a cooperative model calling for stronger solidarity between resource-producing and energy-consuming regions.
Shanxi is making progress. The report details the province’s recent achievements in expanding clean energy such as wind, solar, hydrogen, and pumped hydro and fostering emerging industries such as big data, cultural tourism, and sustainable agriculture. Renewable energy has taken up half of Shanxi’s total installed power capacity, marking a significant shift in its energy mix. The hydrogen sector, with over 30 companies operating along the full value chain, reached an annual production capacity of 3 million tons and generated more than RMB 50 billion (approximately USD 6.9 billion) in revenue in 2023.
During a recent visit to Shanxi, President Xi Jinping called on the province to move beyond its old coal-heavy growth model, which relied heavily on coal and heavy industry. He encouraged local leaders to focus on quality over quantity by investing in new industries, upgrading traditional sectors, and using technology to drive change. This aligns closely with the new report’s call for a more resilient economy that can protect the environment, create new jobs, and reduce its reliance on coal without leaving communities behind.
Yet coal remains deeply embedded in the economic and employment fabric. According to the latest data from Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics, in the first half of 2025, the province remained China’s largest coal producer with a production of over 652 million tons. The coal industry grew at 7.1% year-on-year, much faster than the non-coal sectors’ growth of 5.1%. The province achieved an overall GDP growth of 3.8% in the first half, the lowest in China.
Professor Kou Jingna of Taiyuan University of Technology, lead author of the report, emphasized, “Shanxi exports more than 700 million tonnes of coal to other provinces each year. This has ensured national energy security, but also imposes a heavy burden on local communities. Without shared responsibility across provinces, the pressure on Shanxi is unsustainable.”
Dr. Kou Jingna, Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Technology, and Lead Author of the Report, shares the key findings from the report.
The JETB model draws inspiration from China’s “paired assistance” program and proposes cross-provincial cooperation in clean industry investment, policy coordination, and financial support. It urges historically coal-consuming provinces and wealthier coastal regions, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong, to co-invest and co-design energy transition strategies with regions like Shanxi.
“While eager to transform, Shanxi is unable to do it alone. Shanxi’s economy has long been dominated by the coal industry. To achieve a fundamental transformation, we must look beyond the province and seek dialogue and cooperation. In the national effort to achieve the 'dual carbon goals,' the developed coastal provinces must work together with Shanxi to win this battle together.” said Zhao Pei, PACS Senior Energy Campaigner.
Shanxi’s story is not just important for China, but for other countries facing similar challenges. As a province that has long depended on coal, Shanxi is now trying out new ways to move toward cleaner, more sustainable growth. The report shows how this shift is happening on the ground. If successful, Shanxi’s experience could help shape how the world supports fair and practical energy transitions in other coal-dependent regions.
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Leovy C. Ramirez (she/her)
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People of Asia for Climate Solutions
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