China Powers Ahead in Renewable Energy Transition

As China’s economy continues to grow, so does its demand for energy. With rapid industrialization, urbanization and rising living standards, the country has seen a steady increase in energy consumption over the past decades, with per-capita electricity use growing nearly seven-fold between 2000 and 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. Meeting this growing demand while reducing reliance on fossil fuels has become a central challenge for China, which is also the world’s largest carbon emitter.

In response, China has launched an aggressive push to scale up renewable energy. In 2024 alone, it added an unprecedented 445 gigawatts of renewable capacity - accounting for 60 percent of global additions. That's according to the Renewables 2025 Global Status Report published by REN21 this week. This surge is being driven by a combination of long-term policy planning, substantial government subsidies and market incentives. The Chinese government has offered tax breaks, feed-in tariffs and priority grid access for renewable producers, while also mandating clean energy targets for local governments and state-owned enterprises. These policies, along with China’s strong manufacturing base for solar panels and wind turbines, have put the country ahead of its peers in the transition away from fossil fuels towards more sustainable power consumption.

In total, the world added more than 700 gigawatts of renewable power capacity last year, which is the largest annual increase to date. However, as our chart shows, the renewables push was concentrated in a few key markets, with China in particular playing an outsize role. More worryingly, some countries have reversed policies that promoted the clean energy transition, with the United States clearly steering back towards fossil fuels since Donald Trump's return to the White House.