China has provided the manufacturing, finance and strategic vision to lead the world’s energy transition says Ember.
(Al Jazeera) – China’s state-led investment in clean energy is now the main determining factor in how quickly the world decarbonises, according to a report by London-based think tank Ember.
“Within China there is a realisation that the old development paradigm centred on fossil fuels has run its course, and is not fit for 21st century realities,” says the report, published on Tuesday. “The government’s aim to establish an ‘ecological civilisation,’ which simultaneously delivers on economic, social and environmental goals, is the response, embedded in the Constitution since 2018.”
China produces 60 percent of global wind turbines and 80 percent of global solar panels, driving cost reductions for everyone else, Ember’s Sam Butler-Sloss told Al Jazeera.
“Since 2010, the cost of solar modules has come down over 90 percent … and China has been responsible for three quarters of the cumulative solar manufacturing in that period,” she said.
“Now, we’re at a point where solar modules are sub-10 cents per watt. Batteries are coming in at sub-$70 per kilowatt hour. And this is enough … to profoundly change the economics of energy around the world.”
