China leads in emissions reduction, IEA head says

Growth of global greenhouse gas emissions will reduce significantly this year due to the increase in renewable energy worldwide, with China leading in this phenomenon, the executive director of the International Energy Agency said.

"This year, global emissions of carbon dioxide will increase by less than 1 percent, and this is a result of major growth in renewable energy technologies," Fatih Birol told China Daily in an interview during COP27. "China has been the leader globally in clean energy technologies, including in terms of solar, wind and nuclear capacity."

Last year, the world saw a huge growth in the electric car market, and half of the world's electric cars come from China, which has contributed greatly to slowing down the growth of emissions this year.

"In future, we even see that the role of clean energy technologies will be greater and China will play a more important role," Birol said.

The IEA estimated that global emissions of carbon dioxide this year will increase by 300 million metric tons to nearly 34 billion tons, or an increase of less than 1 percent, compared with an increase of 6 percent globally last year.

China is a world leader in new energy development, driven by a low-carbon transformation. In addition to electric cars, China has remained at the top spot for many years in terms of total installed capacity for wind and solar power, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Zhao Yingmin, Chinese vice-minister of ecology and environment, said emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of China's gross domestic product decreased by a third between 2012 and last year.

In the renewable energy sector, China has created about 54 million "green jobs", with more than 4 million jobs in renewable energy, according to a World Bank report released in October.

Birol said increasing investment in clean energy will be a key part to fight climate change in the world, especially investment in developing countries. Developed countries should honor their commitment to providing $100 billion annually to help developing countries fight climate change.

"I really hope that the advanced economies will honor their commitments, either during the COP27 or right after," he said. "We hope to see $100 billion on the table in order to provide support for the clean energy investment in developing countries."