China's clean power shift hailed as scientific breakthrough, spotlighting global leadership

BEIJING -- China's unprecedented renewable energy expansion has drawn global scientific acclaim, with top academic journals Science and Nature highlighting this week the country's clean power transition as one of 2025's most inspiring milestones.

The renewables have helped bring the growth of greenhouse emissions to a virtual standstill in China and put a global carbon peak within reach, said Science magazine, naming the renewable energy surge led by China the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

"China's mighty industrial engine is the driver," the journal stated, noting that the country produces 80 percent of the world's solar cells, 70 percent of wind turbines and 70 percent of lithium batteries "at prices no competitor can match."

Nature magazine also featured China's clean energy achievements as "feel-good science stories to restore your faith in 2025."

Renewables overtook coal as the world's top energy source for the first time this year, propelled by China's milestone of surpassing 1 terawatt of installed solar capacity in May, said the British scientific journal.

In the first six months of 2025 alone, China installed new solar systems with a capacity twice as much as the rest of the world combined, according to Nature.

"China and many developing countries are deploying solar and wind [and] electric vehicles at a pretty breakneck pace," Glen Peters, a climate scientist, was quoted as saying.

RECORD EXPANSION

China's renewable energy expansion has shattered records, with wind and solar capacity surpassing thermal power for the first time in history by March.

By the end of June, China's installed wind and photovoltaic power generation capacity had reached 1.67 billion kilowatts, representing 13.6 percent higher than thermal power capacity.

Over the past five years, China has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable-energy system, with the share of renewables in installed power capacity rising from roughly 40 percent to 60 percent, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

During this period, the proportion of non-fossil fuels in China's energy consumption has climbed by one percentage point and coal's share has fallen by the same margin every single year, as shown in NEA data.

The 2025 energy Nature Index reveals that from 2019 to 2024, China's clean energy output was significantly higher than that of other countries.

In addition, China operates the world's largest carbon market by coverage, regulating over 60 percent of national carbon dioxide emissions through effective permits.

NEW COMMITMENTS

In September, China announced its new Nationally Determined Contributions with ambitious targets for 2035, including reducing economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels.

This represents China's first absolute emissions reduction target covering the entire economy and including all greenhouse gases, which is a testament to its firm resolve and maximum effort.

China also aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30 percent by 2035 and to expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power sixfold from 2020 levels.

GLOBAL IMPACT

China's renewable energy expansion has not only transformed its domestic energy landscape but has also positioned the country as a global leader in the fight against climate change.

"China's burgeoning exports of green tech are transforming the rest of the world, too," said the journal Science.

In the last five years, the country's wind and solar exports have helped the world avoid roughly 4.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, according to the NEA.

It has collaborated with over 100 countries and regions on green energy projects, helping reduce the average cost per kilowatt-hour of global wind and photovoltaic power generation by 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively, said Wang Hongzhi, head of the NEA, at a forum in October.

China has also provided more than 177 billion yuan (about $25 billion) in climate funding for other developing countries since 2016.

"Now, China makes them [clean energy technologies] for the world -- better, vastly cheaper, and in staggering quantities," remarked a Science editor.