BEIJING, (Reuters) – China saw its largest increase in energy consumption and coal usage in a decade, in 2021. This was after the recovery from COVID-19’s slowdown a year prior, according to data released Monday by the statistics bureau of China.

China is the largest coal-burner and emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. It used 5.24 Billion Tonnes of equivalent standard coal energy last year. This was 5.2% more than 2020.

According to Reuters data, the rate of growth was at its highest level since 2011.

NBS said that China’s coal consumption increased by 4.6% in 2021. It is the fastest rate of growth in 10 years.

With rising fossil fuel consumption undermining efforts to reduce carbon emissions, the government has committed to limiting construction in energy-intensive industries.

President Xi Jinping promised to reduce the country’s carbon emission to a minimum by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. He hasn’t set any limits on the country’s total energy consumption or carbon emissions.

China’s energy intensity, which measures how much electricity is consumed per unit of economic growth, fell to 2.7% in 2021 despite strict measures, including the limitation of some areas. This compares with a target reduction of “around 3%) for that year.

China granted approval for the expansion of hundreds upon hundreds of collieries in China last year. The annual output increase was approximately 420,000,000 tonnes. China attempted to ensure energy supplies after a national power crisis, and the output reached an all-time high.

According to the state planner, coal miners were ordered to maximize operations in order to guarantee market supply. Last week’s daily output of coal was reported to have rebounded to late 2021 levels.

China could be relaxing its commitments to the environment in an effort to help an economy that was hit by shortage-chain disruptions and restrictions on “zero COVID,” analysts say.

Justin Jose, Rystad Energy analyst said that energy security is more important than decarbonisation ambitions for China in the near to medium-term. He also stated that China’s demand for coal will continue to rise.

China will reveal its targets for energy intensity and carbon intensity on Saturday at the annual meeting of parliament.