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Coal-fired power plays a critical role in China’s compliance with the Paris Agreement. This research quantifies China’s stranded coal assets under different coal capacity expansion scenarios with an integrated approach and high-precision coal-fired power database. From a top-down perspective, firstly, the pathway of China’s coal-fired power capacity consistent with the global 2°C scenario is outlined and then those stranded coal-fired power plants are identified with a bottom-up perspective. Stranded value is estimated based upon a cash flow algorithm. Results show that if coal capacity stabilizes during 2020–2030, China will only incur a sizeable yet manageable stranded asset loss (USD 55 billion, 2020–2045). However, a continued increase of coal-fired capacity, of another 200∼400 GW, would significantly enlarge the loss by 2.7∼7.2 times. Further, once commissioned coal-fired power would form a resource lock-in effect. Thus, it will miss a short-term opportunity to develop new energy sources and induce a long-term need to invest in coal-fired power negative emission technology. Therefore, halting the construction of new coal-fired plants is a low-cost and no-regret option for China. Key policy insightsEven with the largest coal-fired power capacity in the world, China still has the chance to decommission the coal-fired power units gradually at a relatively low cost.Continuing to build new coal-fired power units in China will increase the risk of stranded assets, especially for North China Grid and Northwest China Grid.Taking immediate action to stop building new coal-fired power units would be the low-cost and no-regret option for China.The local financial sector needs to work with the energy sector to gradually withdraw from the coal sector and support clean and renewable energy. Even with the largest coal-fired power capacity in the world, China still has the chance to decommission the coal-fired power units gradually at a relatively low cost. Continuing to build new coal-fired power units in China will increase the risk of stranded assets, especially for North China Grid and Northwest China Grid. Taking immediate action to stop building new coal-fired power units would be the low-cost and no-regret option for China. The local financial sector needs to work with the energy sector to gradually withdraw from the coal sector and support clean and renewable energy.

Quantifying stranded assets of the coal-fired power in China under the Paris Agreement target