China at forefront of fight against climate change

In the next five years, China's economic development will no longer lead to growth in carbon emissions and instead make a significant contribution to the global efforts to combat climate change, energy company executives and industry experts said.

China's installed capacity of new energy is expected to more than double in the next five years, and rise from the current 1.1 billion kilowatts to 2.4 billion kilowatts by 2030, said China Huaneng Group Chairman Wen Shugang during the World Economic Forum's 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, or 2024 Summer Davos, which opened here on Tuesday and will run until Thursday.

This will bring significant opportunities for the global energy technology industry, he said.

By 2030, the proportion of clean energy generation will exceed 50 percent, and the share of electricity in end-use energy consumption will reach about 34 percent. Power supply will become cleaner, safer, more efficient and smarter, driving society toward green production and lifestyles, he said.

Wen suggested strengthening cooperation in energy technology innovation, so as to build an open and innovative ecosystem, leveraging each country's strengths to deepen technological collaboration and promote cross-border technology applications for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Accelerating breakthroughs in new energy, long-term energy storage, low-cost green hydrogen and ammonia, and large-scale carbon capture technologies will help promote the deep integration of energy and digital technologies, he said.

While the risks posed by climate change to ecosystems and livelihoods are increasingly evident and consequential, industry participants will need to scale up policies and advanced technologies geared to making progress toward a carbon-neutral and nature-positive future, said Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd.

"We are also willing to share our technology with each one in the world, helping build battery factories while coming up with industry chains across the globe," he said.

Large, or grid-scale, energy storage systems enable the integration of renewable energy sources, which may have intermittent or variable output depending on weather conditions, into an energy grid while enhancing stability and reliability.

Driven by robust new energy vehicle demand, China's power battery industry has seen growing sales and output in recent years, with emerging technologies expected to accelerate its high-quality development in the short term.

Guo Shougang, deputy director of the equipment industry department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said earlier that with government support, China leads in both the quality and quantity of batteries, where power batteries serve as the core component of NEVs and are the main driver in automotive electrification.

Experts also said additional investments and actions are needed for countries to meet their climate goals.

China has progressed significantly in recent years, primarily driven by long-term efforts to increase the share of clean energy and enhance their grid reliability, according to a report jointly released by global consultancy Accenture and World Economic Forum in June.

In 2023, China also significantly scaled up its renewable energy capacity and continued to grow and invest in its manufacturing capability in clean technologies such as batteries for electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines and other critical technologies, while it is also leading in developing new energy solutions and technologies, said the report.

Clean energy investment continues to be concentrated in advanced economies and China, underscoring the need for financial support from advanced nations to facilitate an equitable energy transition in emerging and developing nations and forward-thinking policymaking in all nations to foster truly conducive investment conditions, it said.

Urgent action is needed. Global decision-makers must make bold moves to regain momentum in the transition toward an equitable, secure and sustainable energy future, said Espen Mehlum, head of energy transition intelligence and regional acceleration of the World Economic Forum.