How China is helping power the world’s green transition
We are moving into the Intelligent Age – an era where advances in fields from renewable energy, robotics to artificial intelligence (AI) unleash new sources of prosperity and drive a global green transition.
The shift is already well underway in China, where electric vehicles (EVs) – identifiable by their bright green license plates – sweep softly through the streets and gleaming rows of solar panels run for kilometres.
A confluence of factors drives this shift.
Starting with an ambitious commitment to hit peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060, China is growing new industries and building a new generation of energy infrastructure at a scale and speed unmatched globally.
This commitment – backed with investment – provides the incentives for a new generation of companies to fund research, driving a nearly 70% increase in expenditure between 2018 and 2023.
It enables enterprises to tap deep pools of expertise and develop green energy solutions in a country that hosts three of the fivebiggest science and technology clusters globally.
The results of these innovations are being felt worldwide; from Sichuan Province to Zimbabwe, China is creating a roadmap for sustainable development on a global scale.
Powering the green transition
China spent more than twice as much on its green transition in 2023 than any other country, and this investment has made it a global powerhouse in clean energy production.
Battery technology is a case in point. China is home to the world’s largest suppliers of components for lithium-ion batteries, upon which EVs depend for power. Chinese EV battery makers had a global market share of 60% and grew their exports by 30% year-on-year in 2023.
China is similarly dominant in its embrace of low-emission hydrogen, a residue-free energy source that releases steam instead of smoke. The largest green hydrogen project on the planet is located in China, as are around 40% of the world’s hydrogen refuelling stations. These stations support a small but quickly growing population of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Solar and wind energy are also areas of strength. In 2023, the country commissioned as much solar photovoltaic capacity as the entire world did the year before and was responsible for75% of global wind farm installations.
The rapid growth of green technology production in China has helped cut green energy costs worldwide, making sustainable energy solutions more accessible than ever for billions of people.
China’s low-cost solar panels are helping to light rural Zimbabwean communities, while Chinese EVs, which are affordable, clean transportation choices on city streets from Mexico to Thailand, are growing in popularity.
The nation’s sustainable development drive also makes tackling emission-cutting targets easier for other countries. In New Zealand, which aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, China supplied 89% of solar PV equipment by value in 2023.
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