Opportunities to emerge in low-carbon transition

High-cost era

He said China is entering a high-cost era. In addition to the burden from its aging population and the cost of its low-carbon transition, China is also confronted with costs that may emerge from uncertainties in the complex international environment and the costs generated as the world revamps its supply and industry chains.

In the current stage, he said one issue that should be fully considered is how to share these costs among the government, the market and different social sectors.

Song Lianchun, director of the National Climate Center, said that based on current technical feasibility, the potential annual capacity of solar and wind power generation across China, including offshore wind power, stands at 77.9 trillion kilowatt-hours, 11 times the country's total electricity consumption in 2019 and five times its expected power demand in 2050.

Based on power generation costs equal to those of coal-fired power plants, the annual capacity of onshore wind and solar energy that could be developed with current technologies is about 10.4 billion kilowatt-hours, he said.

However, he noted that there would be challenges in utilizing these sources of power, as both are intermittent due to varying weather conditions.

But solar and wind power are mutually complementary, he said. Their intermittent problems may possibly be addressed by optimizing the distribution of power generation facilities.

Song also warned of the threat that extreme weather events pose to wind and solar power generation.

In mid-February, more than 4 million people were without power in the US state of Texas after a rare deep freeze. Song pointed out that the area's energy mix, with as much as 20 percent coming from wind power, was a factor contributing to the power outage.

"Extreme weather can have a very big impact on the use of new energy. Detailed research is required to solve the problem," he said. One of the solutions is to enhance power storage capacity and improve the design standards of power generation facilities.

While the cost of renewable energy generation has sharply decreased, power storage costs remain high.

Despite these challenges, China will steadfastly forge ahead with its ambitious targets.

China always honors its commitments, as stressed by President Xi while addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate.

"Guided by our new development philosophy, we will promote greener economic and social development in all respects while pursuing high-quality development," he said.

"We will take solid steps to implement the targets just announced, and contribute even more to tackling the global climate challenge."