Chinese investments in clean energy rose again in 2024, to the equivalent of $940 billion, which was close to the total global investments in fossil fuels last year, Carbon Brief, a UK-based research group, said in a new report on Wednesday.
Last year, China’s investments of $940 billion, or 6.8 trillion Chinese yuan, were also of a similar scale to the overall size of the economy of Saudi Arabia, according to Carbon Brief’s research based on analysis of Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The research also found that clean energy technologies contributed more than 10% of China’s economic growth in 2024 for the first time ever, with sales and investments worth $1.9 trillion, or 13.6 trillion yuan. Without the growth in clean energy technologies, China would have missed its 5% GDP growth target, Caron Brief said.
The analysis used a broad definition of “clean-energy” sectors, including renewables, nuclear power, electricity grids, energy storage, EVs, and railways.
EVs, batteries, and solar power continued to dominate the economic contribution of clean energy in China, generating three-quarters of the value added and, attracting more than half of all investment in clean energy, the analysis found.
China is expected to see additional growth in clean energy investments this year, the last year of the 2021-2025 five-year plan. Going forward, the development of clean energy in China will depend strongly on the new targets and policies in the next five-year plan. These goals need to be ambitious for growth to continue, according to the researchers.
China has already achieved its 2030 renewable energy capacity target six years ahead of schedule, but it continues to invest in new coal-fired power capacity.
Despite soaring solar and wind power installations, China launched construction of as many as 94.5 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power projects in 2024, the highest level since 2015, research showed last week.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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