China has made significant progress in accelerating its journey towards carbon neutrality and green development. The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China released its white paper ‘Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality (China’s Plans and Solution)’ in November 2025.
The paper outlines key strategies and success stories from China's efforts towards carbon neutrality and green transition. According to this paper, the share of non-fossil energy consumption in China increased from 16 per cent in 2020 to 19.8 per cent in 2024, attributable to the country's new green energy development strategies.
According to the paper, China is making efforts to transition to green energy resources, including hydropower, wind, nuclear and photovoltaic. It is actively developing large-scale wind and photovoltaic power bases. The installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power surpassed 1690 GW by the end of August 2025, triple that of 2020, and accounted for about 80 per cent of newly installed power-generation capacity since 2020.
By the end of August 2025, China's installed hydropower capacity stood at approximately 380 GW and 112 nuclear power units were in operation, under construction or approved for construction, with a combined installed capacity of 125 GW, ranking first globally.
China also led the world in annual green hydrogen production, with over 150,000 tonnes by the end of 2024. Similarly, China is promoting clean and efficient use of coal, reducing consumption, and replacing it with alternative energy resources. Over the past decade, more than 100 GW of obsolete production capacity has been eliminated.
The share of coal in China’s total energy consumption declined from 56.7 per cent in 2020 to 53.2 per cent in 2024. In addition, China is promoting the green production of oil and gas nationwide through modern technologies and techniques. It is working on promoting electricity load flexibility, strengthening a new type of energy storage and improving the coordination and operation capacity of power sources.
China is also not approving energy-intensive projects with high emissions and outdated technologies. All projects must adhere to updated binding standards for environmental protection, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and decommissioning of outdated production capacity. Similarly, the application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing in power systems, industrial and agricultural production, transport, and building construction and operation for the green transition is an important component of China’s strategy for green development.
A total of 246 data centres have also been designated as national green data centres, with green electricity accounting for more than half of their electricity consumption.
China is also focusing on green transport to reduce emissions from this sector. China leads the world in the scale and speed of development of new energy vehicles. China also leads the world in railway electrification, with the electrification rate reaching 76.2 per cent in 2024. China has promoted clean power in ships and aircraft. By 2024, fuel consumption per tonne/km of the civil aviation transport fleet had dropped by 20.5 per cent compared to the 2005 baseline.
China is also continuously upgrading its transport system by promoting the construction of green highways, railways and waterways, strengthening the green and smart development of newly built stations, airports, and ports, and improving new-energy transport infrastructure. China has established the world’s largest charging network, leading in the number of charging facilities, compatibility with vehicle models and area of coverage.
The total number of charging facilities for electric vehicles in China had reached nearly 17.35 million, a tenfold increase over five years by the end of August 2025. China is also prioritising public transport in urban areas and has accelerated the development of a green transport system. By the end of June 2025, China led the world in urban rail transit, with 330 lines in operation, totalling more than 11,000 km of track.
China is also paying close attention to green urban development. China explores the role of green and low-carbon development throughout planning, construction, and administration. It is leading the ongoing urban renewal drive, which includes the restoration of the urban ecosystem.
China promotes green construction and the application of green building materials. It has also advanced clean-energy heating in northern regions, with more than 40 million rural households retrofitted with clean heating systems. By the end of 2024, the proportion of clean energy heating in northern China had reached 83 per cent, almost 20 per cent higher than in 2020.
China is committed to promoting a green and healthy lifestyle. An average of 200 million people now travel by public transport every day, with about 25 million using shared bikes. China has also implemented comprehensive household waste sorting. China also launched the ‘Clear Your Plate’ campaign to prevent food waste, and guided the public to conserve water and electricity and reduce the use of disposable products.
It encourages the use of green and low-carbon products and discourages excessive consumption. The PM2.5 pollution in China declined by 54 per cent between 2013 and 2023, improving its air quality at the fastest rate in the world. Beijing, which faced the challenge of smog, experienced the largest decline, with a 64.2 per cent reduction over 10 years.
There are lessons for Pakistan and other countries in moving towards a green path from China's achievements and progress. Pakistan can seek support from China, a close ally and friend for decades, to transition its economy to a green economy and effectively address the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation.
The writer is a graduate of the University of Oxford in Public Policy. She tweets/posts @zilehumma_1 and can be reached at: [email protected]
