In June 2021, Renmin University released this report analyzing the costs and risks of coal-fired plants in China, with the focus on the transition of the coal power system. Support for this research came from Energy Foundation China.

Through matching several publicly released plant-level databases at home and abroad, the report builds a unified basic database of coal power transition in China to lay a foundation for future research and policy discussions on coal power. The authors hope it will offer a new analytical perspective that can be helpful for decision-making, as China formulates science-based coal power development policies. They hope it will also help stakeholders understand the environmental, economic, financial, and social impacts brought by the investment in or the phase-out of coal power.