Electrification of heating, particularly with highly efficient heat pumps, is increasingly viewed as essential for reaching the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement. In China, rural heating has long represented a major contributor to local air pollution, poor indoor air quality, and...

China's 'Shuangtan' (dual carbon) pledge is the most consequential climate commitment made by the Chinese government. Announced in September 2020, it commits China to reaching peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. With the nature of the Chinese policy system, however,...

Green power trading is a market-oriented way to promote a clean energy transition in China. In practice, China's leading instrument for this policy, the green certificate, has faced serious obstacles. A new OIES paper by Anders Hove and Gary Sipeng Xie examines the goals and history of the green...

China is currently the world's largest oil importer and is on track to becoming the biggest consumer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This dependency is viewed as a strategic vulnerability, especially as China's ties with the USA are worsening and Beijing has growing concerns about Washington's...

Rare earth elements (REEs) have many uses in the energy and defence industries, among others, and demand for them is set to increase rapidly in support of the low-carbon energy transition. Although the REEs are not geologically rare, China dominates the supply chain, accounting for 70% of global...

Bidirectional charging capabilities will soon be offered on more electric vehicle (EV) models, but the market appeal and economic potential of this technology are largely unknown and widely debated. China is the largest EV market, and is also in the midst of a major build-out of distributed...

China’s low-carbon energy transition depends on the power sector taking the lead. In this assessment, we seek to answer three questions about China’s power sector transformation: (1) Is the power sector transition on track, in terms of non-fossil and renewable capacity and output? (2) Are...

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen. The country has adopted a domestic strategy that targets significant growth in hydrogen consumption and production. Given the importance of hydrogen in the low-carbon energy transition, it is critical to understand China’s...

China’s “Shuangtan” (dual carbon) pledge is the most consequential climate commitment made by the Chinese government. Announced in September 2020, it commits China to reaching peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. With the nature of the Chinese policy system, however,...

With an installed capacity of 56 GWe, China has the world’s third largest fleet of civil nuclear reactors after the U.S. and France and its ambitious expansion programme will give it the largest fleet by 2030. The government’s policy objectives driving this programme are fourfold: enhancing...