For China, which emits more greenhouse gases, burns more coal and imports more oil than any country in the world, this energy transition isn\u2019t all about climate. A global shift to low-carbon power also poses substantial economic benefits to China, the world\u2019s top manufacturer of batteries, solar panels and electric cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As energy appetites grow quickly across developing countries, China hopes to move them onto its new systems of solar, wind and battery power rather than fossil fuel technologies and markets still dominated by the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey see oil and gas as far too dependent on foreign powers,\u201d said Steven Lewis, C.V. Starr transnational China fellow at Rice University\u2019s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. \u201cThey are building a fleet of electric vehicles and they\u2019ve already made a big dent in their oil imports for that reason alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
China\u2019s state-backed overseas investment program has also poured hundreds of billions of dollars into energy projects in developing countries around the world. Its investments in renewable energy sources overtook fossil fuels around 2023 for the first time since the program began in the early 2000s, according to reporting<\/a> from Inside Climate News.<\/p>\n \u201cChina will pursue green development and share with the world the opportunities from green and low-carbon transition,\u201d He said at Davos.\u00a0<\/p>\n These sorts of economic forces are increasingly shaping the politics of the energy transition, rather than diplomatic discourse at international forums, said Li Shuo, China Climate Hub director at the Asia Society Policy Institute.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is becoming less about what governments say and more about which companies are putting EVs on the road and solar panels on rooftops,\u201d he said. \u201cOn that front, China\u2019s lead is not only intact, but widening.\u201d<\/p>\n China, home to 1.4 billion people, accounted for<\/a> about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. Its emissions plateaued in 2025<\/a>, suggesting a possible peak after decades of steep growth. Last September, at a U.N. summit on climate change, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to begin reducing overall emissions by 2030.<\/p>\n These and other steps position China to fill voids in energy transition leadership left by the U.S. and other Western countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n This story is funded by readers like you.<\/p>\n Our nonprofit newsroom provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work.<\/p>\n
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