The images of China's major cities shrouded in clouds of smog and unbreathable air during last winter are still fresh. That is why the latest news from China is all the more significant: the country will close 1,000 coal mines by the end of this year.

The decision is also confirmed by the latest data provided by government sources, which show how coal's role in energy production is rapidly giving way to other sources, renewables in particular. According to the State Council, there should be a reduction of 500 million tonnes of coal within three or four years.

"This trend could continue for 3–5 years or even longer," Li Junfeng, director general at the National Climate Change Strategy, told the Guardian. "Today's data are sending a strong signal of a clear acceleration in China's energy transition. I think thermal (coal) generation will continue to fall at a rate of 2–4 per cent a year and non-fossil energy production will remain at a growth rate of 20 per cent."

This is an extremely important signal. The world's largest coal producer has decided to change its energy policies — most likely both in response to a serious deterioration in air quality and as a result of the slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Yet the strongest push comes from the various records broken by the eastern giant in the field of renewables. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China has overtaken the EU-27 in installed wind capacity, at least as of 2015. The talk is of a leap in new installations, which reached 30 gigawatts of newly installed capacity. The trend is confirmed by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which explains how resources allocated to renewable energy have increased in China, the United States, Africa, Latin America and India. Last year marked a record for newly installed capacity, with 64 GW from wind and 57 GW from solar photovoltaic. And it is China that is firmly in the lead, with 110.5 billion dollars (+17 per cent) invested in solar and photovoltaic energy.