Friday, November 15, 2024

Opinion | Climate action: How China is accelerating efforts towards a net-zero world

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In addition to environmental concerns, minimizing dependence on fossil fuel imports is also in China’s national security interests, and therefore challenges areas such as the Persian Gulf (vulnerable to Middle East conflicts) and the Pacific Ocean. become less vulnerable to Straits of Malacca (Managed by the US 7th Fleet).
This year, for the first time, on a global scale Investing in solar power This exceeded spending on oil production. China produces 85% of the world’s solar cell supply, 88% of solar polysilicon, and 97% of silicon ingots and silicon wafers. Solar power is the “new oil” and China has maintained its dominance. US Inflation Control Act and the E.U. Initiatives for green “risk avoidance”.
Chinese manufacturers too Gain an edge in wind power generation, accounting for 60 percent of the wind turbine market. China accounts for 44% of the world’s offshore wind power capacity, which grew to 31 GW last year, overtaking Europe to become number one. China is also developing megawatt-scale floating power generators that harness wave energy, a technology that could particularly benefit small island nations.
Chinese scientists on the Dongfu No. 1 platform, anchored off the coast of Fujian province, are converting seawater into hydrogen and oxygen using wind and solar power, in the first attempt to use seawater without desalinating it. is converting. The experiment will be led by Xie Heping, a researcher at Shenzhen University and the state-run Oriental Electric Company.Photo: Weibo
To address the intermittency of solar and wind power, China is rapidly developing power generation. smart grid, deploying state-of-the-art metrology infrastructure and supervisory control and data acquisition systems. The smart grid market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 14% from 2022 to 2027. Smart grids are essential to the transition to green energy.

China’s offshore and onshore wind power capacity exceeds 310GW, which is roughly equivalent to the combined capacity of the following seven countries: Solar power generation capacity exceeds 379GW, more than the rest of the world combined.

Solar and wind energy are attracting attention worldwide. hydroelectric power It remains the largest source of renewable energy for China, accounting for 16% of total electricity generation in 2020, with wind and solar power accounting for 6% and 4%, respectively.

China is five to 10 years ahead of other countries in hydropower generation and related storage infrastructure, making extensive use of sensors, robots, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

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China’s largest photothermal power generation facility drives development of new forms of energy

China’s largest photothermal power generation facility drives development of new forms of energy

Aiming to move away from coal, China has nuclear powerAccording to the International Atomic Energy Agency, 21 nuclear reactors with a generating capacity of 21.61 GW are under construction, more than 2.5 times more than any other country’s reactors.

Paradoxically, China remains both the problem and the solution to global pollution. It consumes more coal than all other countries combined. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China emitted 8.6 gigatonnes of coal last year, accounting for about 70% of the total and a quarter of global energy emissions.

But thanks to China’s rapid transition to renewable energy and economic slowdown, coal-fired emissions are expected to peak around 2025 and fall to 40% by 2030. Nevertheless, China is expected to remain the largest user of fossil fuels in 2050.

Rich countries will not be able to meet their energy transition goals if they avoid Chinese companies

The IEA expects that improved energy efficiency and electrification will drive the bulk of China’s industrial emissions reductions in the short term, but that “emerging technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage will “I will take over.”

China, the world’s largest trading and manufacturing nation, stands ready to help other countries reduce their emissions. One Belt One Road Initiativemass production of electric vehicles (EV) and promotion of e-commerce.
in One Belt One Road Forum In Beijing in October, President Xi Leaner and more environmentally friendly High quality projects with a focus on financial and environmental sustainability. This will set the stage for greener projects under this initiative, which is a partnership with 150 countries and 30 international organizations.

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China’s Belt and Road, 10 years

China’s Belt and Road, 10 years

According to the IEA, cars and vans accounted for 48% of transport carbon emissions last year, making transport the second-biggest polluting sector after the electricity industry. China is the new Detroit, with Chinese brands accounting for about half of the EVs sold worldwide and manufacturing 80% of EV batteries.

With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, e-commerce is transforming transactions with significant energy savings in time, travel, and delivery.China is the world’s top e-commerce market, accounted for 34 percent of global payments last year. China’s e-commerce market exceeded US$2 trillion last year and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.6%, reaching US$3.4 trillion by 2027.

Sheikh Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister, famously said in 1973, “The Stone Age did not end with a lack of stone. The Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” His words are increasingly prescient. China, along with other major energy consumers such as the United States and the European Union, is contributing to this breakthrough paradigm shift.



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