China's clean energy investments nearing scale of global fossil investments, researchers find

China Clean Energy

19/02/2025 02:41

BEIJING, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China invested 6.8 trillion
yuan ($940 billion) in clean energy in 2024, approaching the
$1.12 trillion in global investment in fossil fuels, according
to a new analysis for U.K.-based research organisation Carbon
Brief.
    That was despite growth in China's clean energy investments 
slowing to 7% from 40% in 2023 amid overcapacity. More than half
of that investment came from China's burgeoning electric
vehicle, battery and solar industries.
    The sector's contribution to China's GDP grew to 10% in
2024, up from 9% in 2023, according to the Carbon Brief
research, which was conducted by analysts at the Helsinki-based
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). 
    Clean energy grew three times as fast as the Chinese
economy, but its contribution to China's economic growth fell to
 26% of China's GDP last year against 40% in 2023, as growth in
the clean-energy economy cooled.
    Clean energy industries were defined as including electric
vehicles and batteries, renewable manufacturing and power
generation, railways, electric grids and storage and energy
efficiency.
    The weaker contribution to GDP growth was also because of
deflation and plunging prices for renewable energy equipment
such as solar and batteries - although lower prices helped boost
the adoption of renewables, the report said.
    China's burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry
contributed the largest share of GDP, with 3 trillion yuan of
GDP from EV and hybrid production and 1.4 trillion yuan from
factory investment. Charging infrastructure contributed another
122 billion yuan.
    Solar was the next-largest contributor to GDP at 2.8
trillion yuan, with 1 trillion of that tied to investment in
power generation projects. Solar manufacturing investment
contributed 779 billion yuan to GDP, slipping below power
generation as prices for China's solar panels reached all-time
lows. Component exports and electricity generation comprised
another 607 billion and 386 billion yuan, respectively.
    The researchers expect growth in clean power investments to
continue rapidly through 2025, the last year of the current
five-year plan.
    But they said more ambitious targets for the next plan in
2026-2030 are needed to sustain current levels of clean energy
deployment.
    
    

 (Reporting by Colleen Howe. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
 ((colleen.howe@thomsonreuters.com;))