China building more wind, solar capacity than entire world combined: report

Recent extreme weather events, exacerbated by the climate crisis, have highlighted the urgency of these efforts.


China has committed to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060. / Photo: Reuters Archive

China is building almost twice as much wind and solar energy capacity as every other country combined, research published showed.

The world's second-largest economy is the biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive the climate crisis.

China has committed to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.

It has endured several waves of extreme weather in recent months that scientists say are rendered more severe by the climate crisis.

China currently has a total of 339 gigawatts (GW) of capacity under construction, including 159 GW of wind and 180 GW of solar.

That is "nearly twice as much as the rest of the world combined", according to the study by Global Energy Monitor, a United States-based NGO.

The figure far exceeds the second-ranked nation, the United States, which is building a total of just 40 GW, the report said.

Renewable generation

It said China has broken ground on a third of the new wind and solar capacity it has announced to date, compared to a global average of just 7 percent.

"The stark contrast in construction rates illustrates the active nature of China's commitment to building renewables projects," the study said.

Absorbing the boom in renewables remains a challenge for China's coal-centred grid and faster development of transmission lines is needed, GEM research analyst Aiqun Yu said.

Still, the new capacity pushed renewable generation to record highs recently, according to a separate analysis published by Carbon Brief on Thursday.

JULY 11,2024