By Chenglin LI November 10, 2026
🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations to PhD students Chenglin Li, Yang Zhang, Yafei Xu and Professor Yangsiyu Lu!
We are delighted to share that Chenglin Li, Yang Zhang, Yafei Xu and Professor Yangsiyu Lu have published a research article in Nature Climate Change, titled “Early evidence links data centre exposure to coal power retirement timelines.”
This study investigates how the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and data centre infrastructure may influence coal power retirement timelines and global decarbonization efforts. As data centres drive growing electricity demand, concerns have emerged that their expansion could prolong the operation of coal-fired power plants and delay the transition to cleaner energy systems.
Using global datasets on data centres and coal-fired power plants, the study finds that coal power plants exposed to data centres built after 2020 face significantly lower retirement risks, particularly those with lower carbon emission intensity and higher thermal efficiency. Each standard deviation increase in post-2020 data centre exposure is associated with approximately a 1.7% extension in plant lifespan. Consequently, the 937 exposed coal-fired power generation units are projected to produce an additional 1.96 GtCO₂ (95% confidence interval: 1.01–2.92 GtCO₂) from 2025 until their retirement.
These findings highlight a potential tension between the rapid growth of digital infrastructure and global climate goals, emphasizing the importance of incorporating data centre electricity demand and its implications for fossil fuel retirement into future energy planning and net-zero pathways.
“Nature Climate Change” is a leading international journal in climate change research and part of the prestigious Nature Portfolio. The journal publishes cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on climate science, environmental impacts, energy transitions, and climate policy. It is indexed in both the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), and ranked JCR Q1 in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, and Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences. The journal has a impact factor of 39, reflecting its outstanding academic influence and global reputation.
👏👏👏 We extend our warmest congratulations to Chenglin, Yang, Yafei and Professor Lu on this remarkable achievement!
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