China’s overseas investment in renewable energy has, for the first time, surpassed coal, marking a significant shift in the country's global energy strategy, according to new data from Boston University.
A new analysis from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center shows that China directed 68% of its overseas power investments toward wind and solar energy projects from 2022 to 2023. This marks the first time since the early 2000s that Beijing has invested more in renewables than in fossil fuels abroad.
Historically, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been heavily criticized for funding coal power in developing countries. From 2000 to 2021, just 13% of China’s overseas energy investments supported wind and solar. But under mounting international pressure and a 2021 pledge by President Xi Jinping to stop financing new coal plants abroad, the investment landscape has shifted.
While no new state-backed coal projects were launched after the 2021 pledge, previously approved plants are still coming online. If completed, these projects could emit as much carbon dioxide annually as Austria, according to the analysis.
Despite the renewable energy shift, the scale remains modest. Between 2022 and 2023, only 3 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity were added—far below the 16-gigawatt annual average of Chinese overseas power investments between 2013 and 2019, when coal dominated.
Most of the recent renewable investments were in Asia and the Americas, with only 4% directed toward Africa. However, during a 2024 China-Africa forum, Beijing committed $51 billion to build 30 low-carbon energy projects in Africa over three years.
China’s pivot to renewables overseas is partly driven by economic necessity, analysts say. With a sluggish domestic economy and surplus clean energy technology, China is seeking new markets abroad. "They need to export, they don’t have any choice," said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis.
Domestically, China continues to lead in new coal plant construction, beginning work on 94 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity in 2023—over twelve times the rest of the world’s total. Still, Beijing is trying to position itself as a climate leader, emphasizing its dominance in renewable energy technology and supply chains.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has reversed America’s participation in the Paris Agreement and increased fossil fuel production, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. continues to support global infrastructure and critical mineral investments. The agency is seen as Washington’s counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, though its focus diverges sharply on climate policy.
4o
Iran has rejected as “irrelevant” a UN nuclear watchdog resolution referring its nuclear file to the UN Security Council, arguing that ...
Georgia’s busiest sea gateway has reached its capacity limit, adding urgency to plans for a major expansion of Poti port as the country seeks...
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, ...
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
Wildfires have broken out in Türkiye’s Antalya province, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate as strong winds fuelled the flames.
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, explosions were heard across parts of southern Iran according to local media reports.
A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched two ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
Increasingly intense wildfires and heat waves are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect public health, the United Nations’ weather agency has warned.
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn migration from European breeding grounds toward Africa and the Middle East.
China's coastal areas and southern regions are preparing for days of intense precipitation, with tens of thousands of people evacuated as Typhoon Narra tracks inland and another storm churns toward the country's eastern seaboard.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment