China’s clean energy sectors were the biggest drivers of its GDP growth in 2023: CREA
- China’s clean energy sectors, like renewables, nuclear power, energy storage, EVs and railways, account for all investment growth in the economy in 2023, CREA report says
- Report warns that China’s clean-energy investment growth and its investment-driven economic model portend overcapacity and weakening profitability risks
Sectors related to clean energy were the biggest contributors to China’s economic growth in 2023, accounting for around 40 per cent of China’s GDP expansion last year, which analysts say is a “major pivot” in the world’s second-biggest economy.
China invested an estimated 6.3 trillion yuan (US$890 billion) in clean energy in 2023, a 40 per cent year-on-year increase, an amount equivalent to the global investment in fossil fuels last year, according to an analysis published by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
“China’s reliance on the clean technology sectors to drive growth and achieve key economic targets boosts their economic and political importance. It could also support an accelerated energy transition,” the researchers said in the report.
Investments in China grew by just 1.5 trillion yuan in 2023 overall with sectors such as real estate witnessing a decline in investments, clean energy sectors, including renewables, nuclear power, electricity grids, energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs) and railways, accounted for all of the investment growth across the Chinese economy, the report said.
Including the value of goods and services, clean-energy sectors contributed 11.4 trillion yuan to the Chinese economy in 2023, up 30 per cent year-on-year and representing 40 per cent of the country’s GDP expansion, CREA’s analysis of official figures, industry data, and analyst reports showed.