The power of the global coal energy will increase by 43%

Chinese companies will build 700 coal plants in China and beyond. The surprising numbers run counter to the year-over-year trend in China, where dangerously high levels of pollution are forcing the closure of hundreds of coal mines and curtailing steel production.

In January, Beijing announced that it plans to shut down 800 million tonnes of obsolete coal capacity by 2020.

Citing data collected from the world's largest coal-fired power plant developers, the New York Times writes that Chinese companies will build nearly half of the new generation of coal expected to come on line over the next decade. Specifically, that means 700 new coal plants, most of which will be built in China and about a fifth outside the country, according to figures cited by the New York Times:

In total, 1,600 coal plants are planned or under construction in 62 countries, according to Global Coal Plant Tracker. The new plants would increase the world's coal-fired capacity by 43 percent.

A fleet of new coal plants will make it nearly impossible to achieve the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement. Electricity, generated from fossil fuels like coal, is the world's largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, which scientists say is causing the earth's temperature to rise.

Shanghai Electric Group, one of the largest electrical equipment manufacturers in the country, has announced plans to build coal-fired power plants in Egypt, Pakistan and Iran with a total capacity of 6,285 MW - nearly 10 times the 660 MW coal-fired power it has planned in China. However, the company claims that the new facilities will provide low emissions.

The coal is dead. Coal mining is a sunset industry. Donald Trump is crazy if he thinks he can revive Big Coal. While all of these claims have become part of the global consciousness when it comes to the future of fossil fuels, a report from an environmental group in Berlin questions at least the authenticity of the first two claims.