China’s green devt sets a model as some countries retreat from climate goals
By Li Xuanmin
and Ma Tong, Global Times, Aug 30: China
has made notable progress in energy transition over the past decade, with
"historical breakthroughs" achieved in green and low-carbon energy
development as the country is moving toward building a clean, diversified,
secure and resilient energy supply system, according to a white paper titled
"China's Energy Transition" released by the State Council Information
Office on Thursday.
The white paper listed an array of impressive figures that document milestones
in China's energy transition in the past decade and highlight the country's
outstanding contribution to the global green agenda. For example, last year,
electricity generated by clean energy accounted for nearly 40 percent of
China's total electricity generation. Also, the country's exports of wind and
photovoltaic (PV) products helped other countries reduce carbon dioxide
emissions by about 810 million tons in 2023.
Observers said that China's energy transition will play an exemplary role,
illustrating a path that is cost-effective, economically feasible and brings
far-reaching effect to the global energy industry. It also proves that China's
overwhelming edges in renewable energy is stemming from continuous innovation
and a complete industrial chain, rather than certain Western fallacy of subsidies-driven
growth.
The white paper also offers a detailed elaboration on China's commitment to
fulfilling its responsibility as a major developing country as well as its
willingness to work with other countries to keep global energy industrial and
supply chains stable and maintaining energy security in an open
environment.
Historic achievements
According to the white paper, China has been fast tracking clean energy
development and there's a growing share of green energy in China's energy mix.
Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at
Xiamen University, told the Global Times that over the past decade, "China
has led the global energy transition, not only in the speed of its
transformation but also in the expansion of new-energy production capacity and
output."
Building on the momentum, Chinese officials and industry insiders have
expressed confidence that China, the world's largest energy producer and
consumer, has the capacity and is steadily marching toward its "dual
carbon" goal of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and attaining
carbon neutrality by 2060.
Industry insiders stressed that China's successful energy transition course
plays an exemplary role for developing countries and sets a global model. It is
also a lesson to other developed countries, which - amid global energy shortage
in the last few years— have shown certain level of retreatment from their
climate goals, Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global
Times on Thursday.
An engine for global energy transition
China's green energy development has become an engine for global energy
transition, and the country's new energy industry has also "added to the
global energy supply and eased global inflation pressures," it
noted.
The white paper cited data from the International Energy Agency as saying that
from 2014 to 2023, the global share of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption
rose from 13.6 percent to 18.5 percent, with China contributing 45.2 percent to
this increase. Over the past decade, the average cost per kilowatt-hour of
global wind power projects has decreased by more than 60 percent, and PV power
projects by more than 80 percent. The reductions are largely attributable to
China's efforts.
Analysts said that the white paper provides a fresh rebuttal to Western
smearing campaign on China's new-energy industry, which it claimed was
stimulated by subsidies. "It laid bare that the West-concocted
'overcapacity' tag on Chinese industries does not stand a ground and is
motivated by hegemonic mindset," Cao said.
Lin noted that it also sounds the alarm to Western countries which plan to slap
tariffs on China's new-energy exports in the name of "industrial
overcapacity." It warns them that this politicization of economic issues
will "heavily hinder the global green transition, hinder energy structure
optimization, and delay climate change efforts," Lin said.
The white paper stressed that China opposes all forms of unilateralism or
protectionism, and rejects all forms of "decoupling" and the
"small yard and high fence" approach. It calls for major countries to
"focus more on the future of the earth and humanity and act in a
responsible manner by ensuring global energy security, promoting green
development and maintaining market order."