Substantial contribution to energy transition: China Daily editorial

Unlike the customary pessimism of such reports, two reports on the development of renewable energy published by international agencies on Tuesday both convey rare optimism, albeit cautious, about the sector's prospects, citing the increasingly competitive generation costs of clean energy as a prime factor.

"Total installed costs for renewable power decreased by more than 10 percent for all technologies between 2023 and 2024, except for offshore wind, where they remained relatively stable, and bioenergy, where they increased by 16 percent," according to Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 issued by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Renewables continue to prove themselves as the most cost-competitive source of new electricity generation, the report states. Globally, 91 percent of new renewable projects that became operational last year offered cheaper electricity than the lowest-cost, newly built fossil fuel alternative.

In the other report, Seizing the Moment of Opportunity, published by the United Nations, multiple agencies of the world body urged countries to implement smart and pragmatic policies, and contribute to greater international cooperation to ensure the world can seize the solutions at hand to grasp "a clean, secure, affordable, and equitable global energy system".

Notably, China was singled out in both reports. "The abundance of renewable energy technology manufacturing capacity in China was a key driver behind their cost declines in recent years," the UN report stated.

The 45-page UN report mentions the country more than 40 times and the 216-page IRENA report over 300 times. They both commend the country for its huge input, coordinated actions and resolute execution in the field, as well as its push for innovations, and imply that it is a solutions provider for the Global South.

South-South cooperation on the clean energy transition has been scaling up in recent years, driven in particular by the Belt and Road Initiative. Of the international project finance deals in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, 10-15 percent were under the framework of the BRI, according to the UN report.

To some extent, China has made itself a model in implementing the six measures the UN urges countries take to expedite their energy transition: providing coherent, targeted and workable policy; developing enabling infrastructure; putting people and equality at the heart of the transition; increasing investment and cooperation; dismantling structural barriers in market and finance; and meeting the growing demand for energy.

Thanks to the country's efforts in these regards, the clean energy sector accounted for 10 percent of the Chinese economy and drove one-fourth of the country's GDP growth, a level comparable to that of some developed economies. That's a hard-earned result considering China is still a developing country.

In 2014, China proposed a new energy security strategy that charted the course and laid out the fundamental principles for building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system. Guided by this strategy, the country has been taking vigorous measures to substitute renewables for fossil fuels and aims to create an energy supply system dominated by nonfossil fuels. 

Maintaining energy security and addressing climate change are common challenges the world faces, and accelerating the development of green and low-carbon energy and realizing the energy transition are common imperatives for the world. By pursuing an energy transition path that is suited to its actual conditions, China has been making notable progress in its own energy transition, and through its commitment to the principle of planning together, building together, and benefiting together, China is working with other countries to help fast-track their energy transition. 

So it is fair to say, as the two reports intimate, that China's commitment to realizing its energy transition and the remarkable progress it has made toward that goal represent a substantial contribution to the world's climate actions and sustainable development.