Achievements in China's energy development

BEIJING -- China is committed to driving an energy revolution. As a result, major changes have taken place in the production and use of energy and historic achievements have been realized in energy development, said a white paper released on Monday.

Energy production and consumption are being optimized, energy efficiency has increased significantly, and energy use has become more convenient for both work and life, it said, adding that China's capacity to ensure energy security has been strengthened.

The following are major achievements stated in the white paper titled "Energy in China's New Era" released by the State Council Information Office.

-- Preliminary calculations show that China's primary energy production in 2019 reached 3.97 billion tonnes of standard coal, making it the world's largest energy producer.

-- As of the end of 2019, China's total installed capacity of power generation using renewable energy resources reached 790 million kW, accounting for about 30 percent of the global total.

-- Since 2010, China has invested a total of about 818 billion U.S. dollars in new energy power generation, accounting for 30 percent of the global total investment over the same period.

-- Since 2012, energy consumption per unit of GDP has been reduced by 24.4 percent, equivalent to 1.27 billion tonnes of standard coal. From 2012 to 2019, China saw an average annual growth of 7 percent in the economy, while annual energy consumption rose by only 2.8 percent.

-- Preliminary calculations show that in 2019, coal consumption accounted for 57.7 percent of total energy consumption, a decrease of 10.8 percentage points from 2012; the consumption of clean energy (natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power) accounted for 23.4 percent of total energy consumption, an increase of 8.9 percentage points over 2012.

-- As of the end of 2019, there were 1.2 million electric-vehicle charging stations nationwide, constituting the largest charging network in the world, and effectively improving energy efficiency and optimizing energy consumption in the transport sector.

-- By 2019, carbon emission intensity in China had decreased by 48.1 percent compared with 2005, which exceeded the target of reducing carbon emission intensity by 40 to 45 percent between 2005 and 2020, reversing the trend of rapid carbon dioxide emission growth.