Implementing a strong mandate to phase out coal power before 2045 could help China reach a “positive tipping point”, in which clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, up to three years earlier than expected and put on track Beijing’s zero-emission goal by 2060, according to scientists.

While such a mandate would be more powerful than carbon market trading and subsidies to boost the renewable energy sector, it would require structural changes to the country’s power system and economic model, according to Simon Sharpe, director of S-Curve Economics, a UK-based non-profit research organisation.