Chinese foreign investments in renewable energy sources exceeded fossil fuels for the first time since Beijing began supporting foreign energy projects in the early first decade of the 21st century.
This shift leads to widespread international effects on everything, from climate change to political geography, as well as China’s increasing domination of renewable energy technologies and metal supply chains and technologies that support it.
Historically, coal power stations dominated the belt initiative and the state -backed by the state and its previous program. But between 2022 and 2023, 68% of China’s investments in external energy went to solar and wind energy projects, according to a new analysis issued by the Center for Global Development Policy at Boston University.
In the period from 2000 to 2021, the percentage of Chinese investment in external energy did not exceed 13%.
The state -backed Chinese external investment program pumped hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and energy projects in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and other places.
China’s foreign investment in wind and solar energy was mainly focused in countries in Asia and the Americas, while only 4% of them flowed to African countries, according to to Higo Morrow, a researcher in the analysis and the world of data at Boston University.
The analysis indicates that China has committed to its pledge to 2021 not to finance new coal power stations abroad, although there is no indication of the abolition of the coal investments being implemented as of 2021. The researchers said that these investments “are still in implementation and carbon dioxide will be issued for decades to come.”
“This shift is not a noticeable mutation in the renewable energy sector, as the volume of financing is still relatively limited,” the researchers say. Only 3 gigs of solar and wind energy were funded between 2022 and 2023. In comparison, China’s average annual external energy investments between 2013 and 2019 reached about 16 Gigate.
While coal energy was dominated on these previous investments, electrical energy and gas projects came in the second and third ranks.
Global leadership
China is locally continues its global leadership in developing new coal power plants. Last year, the construction of 94 Gigate of coal energy in China began, compared to 7.4 Gigate in the rest of the world combined, according to the “Global Energy Control” report.
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the belt and road initiative. This program constitutes a continuation of the “exit” policy pursued by China since the first first decade of the 21st century, and it was recently called the Chinese Global Development Initiative.
Although these programs granted Beijing unprecedented geopolitical influence over more than 150 countries around the world, they have sparked severe criticism for the environmental damage and human rights associated with ports, mines, railways, highways and other projects funded and adopted by Chinese companies.
Environmental Protection advocates China, the largest exporter of global warming gases in the world, have currently criticized its financing of coal power stations in developing countries, which actually restricts these countries with the types of intense carbon energy for future contracts.
In 2023, the energy plants funded from China abroad spoke a quantity of carbon pollution, which is almost equivalent to the amount that Malaysia sponsored, according to Boston University analysis.
Beijing claims that these investments brought the ability to reach energy and economic growth to some of the poorest peoples of the world, and they are people who only contributed a little to the global global warming phenomenon.
However, these criticisms prompted Shi to pledge in 2021 to stop financing and build new coal power stations abroad. The new Boston University analysis indicates that Beijing has so far adhered to this promise in the context of the state -funded projects.
Analysts believe that the transformation of China towards low -carbon foreign investments is a strategic step. With the slowdown in the local economy and the surplus of solar energy and wind energy technologies, Beijing is seeking new external markets to accommodate its exports of renewable energy.
However, there are indications that Beijing may increase its external investment in wind and solar energy, as it pledged in 2024 $ 51 billion during the China -Africa Forum to support African development and build 30 low -carbon energy projects over the next three years.
China has sought to consolidate its position as a world leader in climate change, as Chinese president recently told international leaders at a United Nations conference that China has built “the largest and fastest growing renewable energy system in the world, as well as the largest and most complete industrial chain of new energy.” He urged other governments to support the free flow of “high -quality green technologies and products”, especially for developing countries.
