Global energy think tank praises China's world-leading role in clean energy, technology

LONDON -- China continues to lead the world in renewable energy generation and clean technologies, said several recent reports released by the global energy think tank Ember.

China met all of its power demand growth in the first half of 2025 through clean electricity generation, while cutting fossil fuel generation and emissions, according to Ember's Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights.

Remaining the clear frontrunner in global clean energy growth, China accounted for 55 percent of the global rise in solar generation and an 82 percent rise in wind generation, said the report.

The surge in solar and wind power outpaced the growth in global electricity demand in the first six months of 2025, the report said, adding that record solar growth and steady wind expansion are reshaping the global power mix, as renewables overtake coal for the first time on record.

Noting China's remarkable progress in energy transition, the report underlined that China is driving global growth in solar and wind power. The country's solar output grew by 43 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, well above the global average of 31 percent, while its wind generation rose by 16 percent, more than double the global average.

Another report from Ember has shown that China's exports of clean technologies reached a record 20 billion US dollars in August, marking a new high.

It also pointed to a rapid adoption of clean technologies in China. Electric vehicles accounted for about 52 percent of new car sales in August, while China installed more than twice as many solar panels as the rest of the world combined in the first half of the year.

According to Ember's China Energy Transition Review 2025, the country's clean energy transformation is fundamentally reshaping the global energy economy.

Accelerating the deployment of renewables, grids and storage -- coupled with the electrification of transport, buildings and industry -- is rapidly pushing China toward a peak in energy-related fossil fuel use, while reducing costs and driving the adoption of clean electro-technologies worldwide, the report said.

"China's clean energy development benefits the world by making renewables and related technologies cheaper and more accessible," said Xiao-Ping Zhang, professor of electrical power systems at the University of Birmingham.

"This creates new opportunities for China-UK cooperation in areas such as offshore wind, grid transmission and integration, and hydrogen systems," Zhang added.