Reference News Network, December 11 report: On December 9, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website published an article by Inayat Singh titled "The Rise of an Electrified Nation: China Leads Climate Action with Its Dominance in Clean Energy," as translated below:

Analysts say that China's huge advantage in clean technology has shifted global climate action from grand promises and international diplomacy to a technological revolution of cheaper energy.

The accelerated adoption of clean technologies (especially solar, wind, and electric vehicles) challenges long-held perceptions of fossil fuels' central role in modern industrial development, as well as the conventional view of which countries will lead global climate action.

The contrast between countries embracing clean technologies and those still reliant on fossil fuels is becoming increasingly evident. Countries like the United States (currently the world's largest oil producer) may fall behind in future energy competition.

Sam Butler-Sloss of the global energy think tank "Rising Tide" said, "We are facing a situation where oil-producing countries resist change, while emerging energy nations like China drive it."

An analysis by "Rising Tide" on China's energy transition shows that China has reached a critical juncture where it can meet global clean energy demand, not just its own.

Butler-Sloss said, "These clean technologies (products) are already low-cost and will become even cheaper, further strengthening the case for buying electric vehicles, solar panels, and batteries."

Which countries are using China's clean technologies?

Data from "Rising Tide" shows that two-thirds of emerging countries have already surpassed the United States in the proportion of solar power in total electricity generation. Butler-Sloss said that the assumption that wealthy countries would adopt clean energy first and then support developing countries to do the same is being completely overturned."

Developing countries in the Global South are far ahead of wealthy Western countries in energy transition, mainly because these countries need cheaper energy and have better natural conditions for obtaining it.

Most of the world's population lives in so-called "sun belt" regions, where there is ample solar energy available.

Butler-Sloss said, "The geographical environment for new energy is favorable for emerging markets."

Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Center at the Policy Institute of the Asia Society, said developing countries are driven by their own economic interests. Li Shuo said, "We see more and more that the global North and the Global South respond differently to China's investments during the energy transition." Developing countries purchase the cheapest and most advanced solar panels or electric vehicles from China, while high-income countries impose tariffs and other trade barriers on these products.

Li Shuo said this makes it difficult for Western countries to succeed in lowering energy and product prices and reducing carbon emissions.

Where is global climate action heading?

Li Shuo said, "I think there may be more political conditions that force countries to adjust their responses to China's investments... especially in the field of clean technology, because decarbonization is needed, and China has an absolute dominance in this area."

Observers point out that with the United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and stepping back from international climate negotiations, the nature of the UN Climate Conference is also changing.

At the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Belém, Brazil this year, different groups tried to fill the gap left by the US absence, but no clear successor has emerged yet.

Li Shuo said that this conference marks a shift in the nature of global climate action itself, with trade and economic factors taking precedence over national commitments. He said that China's contribution to the global climate agenda, at least in the short term, will mainly be reflected in the real economy sector of clean technology manufacturing and exports. (Translated by Zhao Feifei)

As of December 1, the Bohai Oilfield's Bixi Oil and Gas Processing Plant has supplied more than 400 million cubic meters of natural gas to Tianjin this year, providing clean energy security for the city. This is a photo taken on December 1, 2024, of the Bohai Oilfield's Bixi Oil and Gas Processing Plant in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin. (Xinhua News Agency)

Original source: toutiao.com/article/7582419627507057192/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.