Key facts
- CREA estimated China's third-quarter CO2 emissions fell 3.1% from a year earlier.
- CREA said China's crude oil consumption dropped 4% in the third quarter.
- Transport fuel use in China fell 9% in the third quarter, CREA said.
- Coal consumption in China declined 3.3% in the third quarter, CREA said.
- CREA estimated China saved $9.1 billion on oil and gas imports from March through August.
- CREA analysts said the decline extends a flat-or-falling trend that began in March 2024.
China's carbon dioxide emissions fell 3.1% in the third quarter of 2026, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Finnish climate outlet, cited by Reuters on November 6.
CREA attributed the decline to lower fuel use in China's industrial sector. Crude oil consumption dropped 4% over the three months, and fuel use in transport fell 9%, the outlet said. Coal consumption declined 3.3%, while wind and solar curtailment, the wasting of available renewable output, also fell.
"The sharp decline in China's CO2 emissions extends a 'flat or falling' trend that began in March 2024 and has now lasted more than two years," CREA analysts wrote.
Separately, CREA reported that China reduced oil and gas imports amid the war in the Middle East and relied more on wind and solar to fill the gap. CREA estimated China saved $9.1 billion on oil and gas imports between March and August.
China has drawn on its crude oil inventories, which the report put at 1.3 billion barrels, for most months after March as it cut imports while prices were high. The report said those stock draws and reduced imports kept benchmark crude oil prices in check despite the disruption to flows from the Middle East.
The CREA data suggests China cut energy use enough to affect CO2 emissions despite its large oil inventory level.