China’s striking advances in green technology
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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
China’s BYD overtaking Tesla as the world’s best-selling brand of electric vehicles is one of the most eye-catching headlines of the first week of 2024. But it is just one of the green milestones that China has recently achieved. More important for the world’s environment was the news late last month that China’s share of renewable energy capacity — mostly solar, wind and hydro — reached about 50 per cent of its total generation capacity in 2023. Renewables’ installed capacity surpassed that of coal power for the first time, according to Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
China’s advances in deploying clean tech should be applauded, even if it is continuing to expand its use of fossil fuels such as coal. The country remains the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide,