24.10.2023
How China became a leader in green investment
By the end of 2022, China's leadership in investment in energy transition-related industries has become indisputable. According to Bloomberg NEF, the country accounted for about half of the world's total investment volume ($546 billion). China has invested three times more in solar and wind energy than the US and EU put together.
Particular attention is paid to local producers of green technologies, and the country has actively developed support measures from the state, e.g. in the form of subsidies or easing from the central bank. The global challenge is not just to meet climate goals, but also to improve economic competitiveness.
Nowadays, China is also the world leader in the production of energy storage devices (at the end of 2022, 77% of the world's capacity is concentrated in China – six of the world's ten largest manufacturers). Technological advances are critical to balance the peak production of solar and wind-generated energy and the peak consumption, which are often not coincidental, as well as for the production of EVs.
Why can China be fairly called a "green hyperpower"? One of the reasons is its leadership in the mining & production of rare earth metals required for the production of renewable energy technologies. It is home to 70% of their mining, 87% of their enrichment and 91% of their production. The PRC strongly cares about preserving its position and introduces various measures to restrict exports of rare earth metals.
China seeks to participate in all parts of the green technology value chain. The question of eliminating and preventing the consequences of environmental pollution was urgent in China in the early 2000s, especially air pollution in large cities. This was the point at which a course was set for the development of both pure energy and EV technologies. Due to this, the country protected the environment and at the same time entered emerging markets where virtually no competition existed at the time. China keeps providing substantial subsidies aimed at both purchasers and manufacturers to develop the EV industry.
There are also various measures to incentivize people to switch to EVs, e.g. Beijing has a simplified procedure for obtaining a permit to buy an electric vehicle, as opposed to an internal combustion engine vehicle.
The outcomes of 2022 revealed that China's green technology development is achieving both environmental and economic goals at the same time, including ensuring its own energy security and improving the competitiveness of its manufacturers.
Read more about the data here
Unsplash/ Ryunosuke Kikuno / Kyle Mills
Other news
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments