From firmly promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy, to continuous iterative innovation in energy technology, to leading the world in a number of energy technologies, China is becoming an important force in promoting the development of global clean energy in the low-carbon transformation of the global economy.
■ Xu Weibing
A few days ago, during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to China, China and Germany reached a number of consensus on cooperation. The two sides agreed to launch the Sino-German Dialogue on Climate Change and Green Transition, which will hold its first high-level dialogue in June, and will also establish a Sino-German working group on industrial decarbonization. This will strongly promote the process of low-carbon global economic development.
Data shows that as of September 2023, more than 150 countries and regions have made carbon neutrality commitments, covering more than 80% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, population and GDP. However, in recent years, total global carbon emissions have continued to rise, and fossil fuel demand is expected to peak in 2024. Increasingly severe and irreversible climate change is a common challenge facing mankind, and major economies around the world are actively promoting greenhouse gas emission reduction, developing clean energy, and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
There are three reasons why the global economy must transition to a low-carbon economy. First, global greenhouse gas emissions have remained high for a long time and are on the rise. In particular, in 2023, extreme weather events caused by climate warming are frequent, and extreme weather events have led to significant food production reductions in many countries, leaving 56.8 million people around the world in a state of acute food insecurity and seriously threatening ecosystems. There is an urgent need to decarbonize economic development. Second, in order to achieve balanced development of the economy, society and ecological and environmental protection, countries around the world are exploring the use of technological innovation, institutional change and industrial transformation to reduce the use of high-carbon energy sources such as coal and oil, which is also further promoting the low-carbon development of the global economy. The International Energy Agency expects global clean energy investment to reach $1.7 trillion in 2023, up 40% from 2020. Third, technological progress has played a key role in improving energy efficiency, improving energy consumption structure, optimizing production and logistics, and can promote the decarbonization of the global economy.
According to the International Energy Agency's 2023 Renewable Energy Annual Market Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), the global installed capacity of renewable energy in 2023 will increase by 50% over the previous year to 510 million kilowatts. "China plays a vital role in achieving the global goal of tripling renewable energy," the report said. Driven by clean energy technology, China has ranked first in the world in recent years in terms of installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power and nuclear power under construction, and has built the world's largest clean power generation system. China's wind power and photovoltaic products have been exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world, helping developing countries obtain clean, reliable and affordable energy.
China's contribution to improving global access to clean energy cannot be overlooked. According to the IEA, China's provision of services and support to other countries has significantly improved access to clean energy technologies and reduced the cost of using them globally. From firmly promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy, to continuous iterative innovation in energy technology, to leading the world in a number of energy technologies, China is becoming an important force in promoting the development of global clean energy on the map of low-carbon transformation of the global economy.
Another important indicator of the decarbonization of the global economy is to significantly reduce costs and improve global access to renewable energy. According to the Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2024 released by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the average LCOE of global wind and photovoltaic power generation projects has fallen by more than 60% and 80% respectively in the past 10 years, with a large part of this attributable to Chinese innovation, Chinese manufacturing and Chinese engineering.
The "Renewable Energy Power Generation Capacity Statistics 2024" also points out that in 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy in the world will increase by 13.9% year-on-year, and wind power and photovoltaic capacity are the absolute protagonists, accounting for 98% of the total increase. By the end of 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaics, hydropower, and wind power ranked the top three, accounting for 37%, 33%, and 26% of the total installed renewable energy capacity, respectively. According to the analysis of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the reason why renewable energy represented by wind and solar energy has gained such momentum is due to the continuous improvement of the cost competitiveness of renewable energy, and on the other hand, the attention of governments.
Although the development of renewable energy continues to accelerate, the problem of uneven distribution of geographical and technological deployment is still prominent, and more attention should be paid to the energy transition process of developing countries in the future, so as to promote the joint development of a low-carbon economy in all regions of the world.
At present, China is carrying out extensive international cooperation with an open attitude, which has brought opportunities for green development and win-win development to other countries. While achieving its own clean and low-carbon development, China has also contributed to the global energy transition and climate change. Over the past decade, China has actively established green and low-carbon development cooperation mechanisms with Belt and Road countries and international organizations, and worked together to promote green development and jointly address climate change. In the future, China will continue to rely on technological innovation, a sound industrial and supply chain system and full market competition to achieve the rapid development of the new energy industry, and will carry out extensive international cooperation with a more open attitude to continue to bring green development opportunities to other countries.
Image source of this article: photo.com
Chief Producer丨Wang Hui and Che Haigang
Producer丨Li Piguang, Wang Yu, Liu Weimin
Editor-in-Chief丨Mao Jinghui Editor丨Zou Duo