"China will achieve its goal years ahead of schedule"

The website of the Wall Street Journal recently published an article entitled "China's carbon emission reduction will reach its target several years earlier than expected". The following is an excerpt from the article:

China's large-scale use of renewable energy is accelerating, and its investment in the sector has grown so much that international climate watchdogs now expect China's greenhouse gas emissions to peak years earlier than expected.

According to the latest data released by the government, last year alone, China added 217 GW of new solar power capacity, a 55% year-on-year increase in cumulative installed capacity. This equates to the installation of more than 500 million solar panels, far exceeding the total installed solar capacity in the United States. From the deserts of Inner Mongolia to the mountains of southwestern China to rooftops across the country, including the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, solar panels can be found everywhere.

Last year, China's installed wind capacity increased by 76 gigawatts, more than the rest of the world combined. This is equivalent to more than 20,000 new wind turbines across the country, including large wind turbines in the East China Sea.

For the first time, the new low-carbon power, including hydropower and nuclear power, will be enough to meet China's electricity demand growth for an entire year, analysts say. According to Lauri Miluvelta, chief analyst at the International Energy Agency and the Finnish Energy and Clean Air Research Centre, this development suggests that China's thermal power generation will decline in the coming years.

China's expanding renewable energy production is influencing the global response to climate change. Chinese companies are major manufacturers of clean energy products, from solar panels and wind turbines to electric vehicles.

At the same time, China is vigorously developing renewable energy at home, injecting new vitality into international climate diplomacy. China's growth in carbon emissions has been fodder for critics of China in the past, and now analysts and officials say Beijing's efforts are fueling the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Jan Ivar Koshbakken, a senior researcher at the International Centre for Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, said: "Peaking carbon emissions earlier than expected is significant and sends a signal to the world that we have entered a new phase. ”

In 2020, China pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. China has also announced that it will have at least 1,200 GW of installed solar and wind power capacity by 2030. China will meet target six years ahead of schedule: The China Electricity Council predicted last month that the country will have more than 1,300 gigawatts of installed wind and solar power capacity by the end of the year.

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said: "China's acceleration is phenomenal. ”