Media

Saudi Arabia has sold $11.2bn of shares in Saudi Aramco, short of the maximum sum the world’s largest oil company could have raised in a deal that was designed to win over international investors. “Investing in Saudi Aramco strengthens the strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia, allowing Chinese investors to access the broader Middle Eastern market,” said Xuyang Dong, a specialist on China’s energy sector at Climate Energy Finance, an Australian think-tank. Read more

Beijing’s new 2024-25 Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Action Plan aims to eliminate high-pollution, energy-intensive production and enhance renewable energy usage. “This plan is a significant step forward,” said Dong Xuyang, China energy policy analyst at Climate Energy Finance. With a steel-production glut and falling domestic real estate demand, the plan addresses the need to reduce excessive steel exports and lower the carbon intensity of steel production. Dong highlighted the focus on improving power storage and transforming distribution networks to better integrate new energy sources. With China’s renewable energy capacity exceeding 1.45 billion kilowatts, the plan tackles challenges like electricity generation volatility and geographical discrepancies. “This is a strategic opportunity for decarbonisation,” Dong added, noting the plan’s ambitious targets and its balance between energy security and a cleaner energy transition. Read more

Clean tech finance expert and head of Climate Energy Finance think tank Tim Buckley thinks a China CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechnanism) is just what’s needed to kick Australian miners into action. “While it’s a leap from a tariff increase on large engine cars to a China CBAM, it is great to see China referencing and linking the importance of the energy sector technology disruption and the need to green the economy.” says Buckley. Read more

Xuyang Dong talked to Carbon Brief about CEF’s new report POWER SHIFT: China installed a record 293 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar in 2023 – pushing its total capacity to 1,050GW, according to a new report. The report, published by Australia-based thinktank Climate Energy Finance, says that, if this rate of renewables growth is maintained, then China could reach its “dual carbon” climate goals earlier than planned. Read more

Xuyang Dong talked to Carbon Brief about CEF’s new report POWER SHIFT: China installed a record 293 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar in 2023 – pushing its total capacity to 1,050GW, according to a new report. The report, published by Australia-based thinktank Climate Energy Finance, says that, if this rate of renewables growth is maintained, then China could reach its “dual carbon” climate goals earlier than planned. Read more

A new report by Australia-based thinktank Climate Energy Finance argues that China could reach its “dual carbon” climate goals earlier than planned. Xuyang Dong talked to Carbon Brief about the findings of the report, China’s coal power output will soon peak and decline – despite rising coal capacity – thanks to the rapid rise of clean energy sources. Read more

In the automotive sector, China argues overcapacity is concentrated in combustion-engine cars rather than EVs and says market mechanisms will eventually weed out weak players. Moreover, some models by Chinese EV maker BYD sell in Germany for more than double their price in China – an argument that critics use against Europe’s concerns over unfair pricing. China also says many of its firms are more innovative, hence more competitive. It can point to surpassing the United States as world leader in patent applications. One industry where global demand does not keep up with Chinese production, though, is solar. Xuyang Dong, China energy policy analyst at Climate Energy Finance in Sydney, estimates China’s wafer, cell and module capacity coming online in 2024 is sufficient to meet annual global demand now through to 2032. Read more

Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled a major overhaul of foreign investment rules, saying the changes were designed to help attract private capital and better manage national security risks. Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley said Chinese investors had made important contributions to Australia’s renewable industry, and the more competitive investors able to bid, the better for the energy transition. “We need to collaborate with them because they have got the world’s best technology in solar panels, polysilicon, batteries, wind turbines and electric vehicles,” Mr Buckley said. “Getting them to collaborate and invest in Australia in partnership with us will be critically important”. Read more

Australia should be prepared as China’s remarkable ascent in renewable energy generation is poised to reshape the global energy paradigm, argued Climate Energy Finance (CEF), in recent report. The report forecasts a monumental milestone: the cessation of new coal power construction in China before 2030. Read more

The scam is bad news for Australian coal exports. A report released today by Climate Energy Finance models a dramatic slowing in the rate of China’s new coal power plant build-out to stop the construction of new plants before 2030. This critical shift in the global energy landscape has profound significance globally and for Australia – including the inevitable decline in demand for coal in China. This is a wakeup call for Australia to accelerate the transition of its economy from dependence on coal exports and diversify its economic base. We should be pivoting now to leverage our world-leading wealth of critical minerals such as lithium and strategic metals like iron ore, processing and manufacturing onshore using our abundant clean energy. Read more

Climate Energy Finance’s latest report, released this week, modelled China’s electricity system nationally at the annual level through to 2040, evaluating its likely GDP growth trajectory and the resulting energy demand growth, as well as the increased share and hence demand for electricity in the energy mix as China continues to pursue its ‘electrification of everything’ strategy of the last two decades. This is a wakeup call for Australia to accelerate the transition of its economy from its historic overdependence on coal exports and diversify its economic base. We should be pivoting now to deploy our natural advantages – our world-leading wealth of critical minerals and strategic metals – to produce value-added energy transition materials for export. Read more

Xuyang Dong spoke with Amelia Bernasconi at ABC about CEF’s new report POWER SHIFT: Staggering rise of renewables positions China to end new coal power before 2030. Xuyang says that China is massively accelerating renewable energy. In just the first three months of this year China installed 61 gigawatts of wind and solar. This means China is reducing its dependence on coal power. Coal power will fall to less than 50% of China’s energy mix by 2030. Our projections show it can stop building new coal power stations before 2030. Read more