China announced plans yesterday to spend over $360 billion on developing renewable energy through 2020—an investment that officials say will add 13 million jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as local air pollution in cities. For the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, this push toward renewable power addresses an ongoing need to mitigate pollution from fossil fuels—and makes “a bold claim on leadership in the renewable energy industry,” as renewable energy continues to become a viable alternative to traditional energy resources.
At this RFF seminar, experts from the China National Renewable Energy Centre, US Department of Energy, National Development and Reform Commission (China), and Georgetown University discussed China’s long-term renewable energy development options as well as the potential for increasing renewable energy in China and overcoming the policy, regulatory, market, and institutional barriers to achieving a long-term strategic plan for energy transformation.
Read more from RFF experts about “green” growth in China, tracing the country’s rapid economic growth and the associated environmental problems to its unique and fundamental institutions—and outlining the implications for a more sustainable path.
RFF on the Issues connects today’s pressing news with related research and expertise at RFF.
The views expressed in RFF blog posts are those of the authors and should not be attributed to Resources for the Future.
