SCIO briefing on China's renewable energy development
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 2, 2021
Third, remarkable achievements have been made in reducing pollution and carbon emission, consolidating the foundation for the development of an eco-civilization. In 2020, the scale of renewable energy development and utilization in China reached 680 million tonnes of standard coal, equivalent to replacing nearly 1 billion tonnes of coal, reducing carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by about 1.79 billion tonnes, 864,000 tonnes and 798,000 tonnes respectively. This has provided a solid guarantee for winning the fight against air pollution. Meanwhile, China has actively promoted the clean use of biomass energy such as organic waste in urban and rural areas to improve the living environment. Also, China has actively explored efforts to integrate the control of desertification, the photovoltaic power generation and the agricultural development. By integrating photovoltaic power generation and ecological restoration, China has successfully coordinated the development and utilization of renewable energy with eco-civilization development.
Fourth, renewable energy development has delivered great benefits to the people, contributing to poverty reduction. While extending power grids to areas without electricity, China has also actively launched independent renewable energy supply projects, bringing green electricity to over one million people previously without access to electricity. Since 2012, 31 large hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 64.78 million kilowatt have broken ground to support local economic development and facilitate poverty reduction for relocated residents. China has also launched an innovative scheme to develop photovoltage projects for poverty alleviation. Under the scheme, photovoltaic power stations with an installed capacity of 26.36 million kilowatt have been completed, benefiting nearly 60,000 poor villages and 4.15 million poor households. Economic benefits from these projects amounted to 18 billion yuan each year. This has resulted in the creation of 1.25 million welfare jobs. The scheme has now become a quality example of poverty alleviation through business development and one of China's ten finest projects for targeted poverty alleviation.
Fifth, international cooperation continues to expand, making China's contribution to join hands to address climate change. As the world's largest renewable energy market and equipment manufacturer, China has continued to deepen international cooperation in the field of renewable energy. Our domestic hydropower business has spread to many countries and regions around the world, and the photovoltaic industry has supplied more than 70 percent of the components for the global market. The wide use of renewable energy in the Chinese market has brought down the cost of renewable energy at a faster speed and thus further driven renewable energy development and utilization in other countries. In this way, the world's transition to green energy has accelerated. Besides, in recent years, China has continuously increased renewable energy investment in countries and regions along the Belt and Road to help less developed countries and regions adopt advanced green energy technologies and contribute China's wisdom and strength to the high-quality joint building of a green "Belt and Road."
Ladies and gentlemen, journalists from the media,
In his important speeches recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made it clear that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent, and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030. This has further clarified the strategic direction for China's energy transformation and reform and set a new aim for China's renewable energy development. Next, the NEA will step up the implementation of carbon peaking actions in the energy field and set more proactive goals for new energy development. We will vigorously advance renewable energy development in the new era, expanding its scale, increasing its share, improving its quality and making it more market-based. We will accelerate efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and improve the capacity to absorb and store new energy. We will actively build a new type of electricity system dominated with new energy and make mechanisms and policies more favorable for the whole society to jointly develop and utilize renewable energy. We will vigorously develop renewable energy to turn it from a fresh force in the transition to green and low carbon energy to the main force in achieving peak carbon emissions and neutrality, providing a solid guarantee for building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.
Next, my colleagues and I will answer your questions.
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