Janice R. Andrews
In its quest for clean energy, China has reached a major milestone by meeting its 2030 clean energy goal six years early. President Xi Jinping set the lofty goal of having at least 1,200 gigawatts of clean energy potential by 2030 in 2020. China’s National Energy Administration says the country has now reached 1,206 gigawatts, which is more than the goal. Bloomberg says that 25 gigawatts of wind turbines and solar panels were added last month, which made this accomplishment even better.
This is a very important step forward for China, which, according to The New York Times, will still be the biggest creator of greenhouse gases in the world, putting out about 12.7 billion metric tonnes of emissions every year by 2023. The United States, which is the second-biggest producer, makes 5.9 billion tonnes. Even though China has a big carbon impact, it is leading the way towards clean energy around the world by spending more than any other country.
By 2024, solar and wind energy will have made up about 14% of China’s power. The country wants this number to go up. Several large-scale projects are being used to try to spread clean energy. The China Three Gorges Renewables Group, which is owned by the government, is one project that stands out. In June, they stated that they would be investing a huge 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) in a new energy base in Inner Mongolia that will use solar, wind, and coal. This project is part of a bigger plan to build 435 gigawatts of power plants in desert areas by 2030.
Even though these projects use coal, which makes it harder to lower carbon emissions overall, China’s early success in meeting its clean energy goals shows that it is serious about moving to a more sustainable energy future.
