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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
China’s route to carbon neutrality: the role of renewables
17/8/2022
6 min read
China has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Dolf Gielen, Yong Chen and Nicholas Wagner, from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), look at the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and offer recommendations on actions that should be taken on the road to net zero.
China is the world’s largest energy consuming nation. Coal dominates its energy supply, resulting in the highest CO2 emissions globally. As a result, Chinese energy and climate policies have a profound impact on the world.
The country has had carbon emission controls as a policy objective since 2009. However, new national targets of CO2 emissions peaking at the latest by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2060 at the latest, were announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020.
To achieve this, China will need to radically transform its energy system. The direction and speed of this energy transition will have implications for a range of important themes, from the global supply and demand of critical materials, to technology development and applications, and the new paradigm of global energy geopolitics. A particular feature of the Chinese energy system is the importance of energy-intensive industries, with a significant share of products destined for export.
Planning a new energy system for China
China has witnessed a quadrupling of its renewable electricity generation capacity over the past decade and the emergence of a strong national renewable energy manufacturing industry. This has provided a sound basis for a set of ambitious, but attainable, renewable energy targets that can provide the backbone for the country’s future energy supply.