Macroscope | From natural gas to electric cars, China’s push towards renewable energy should spark investor interest

David Smith says investment opportunities lie in companies that stand to benefit from China’s switch from coal to natural gas, its focus on renewable energy and support for electric vehicles

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Workers check solar panels at a photovoltaic power station in Chongqing, China, in July 2018. The country installed 53GW of solar power in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:18pm, 23 Jan 2019Updated: 10:53pm, 23 Jan 2019

This year will mark the latest milestone in China’s drive to reduce its carbon footprint if it can consolidate its position as the world’s top importer of natural gas, having just overtaken Japan.

The country is simultaneously the world’s worst emitter of carbon dioxide and a leading champion for environmental change. This paradox encapsulates both the breakneck speed of its economic development and its urgent need for modernisation.

A major plank of China’s reforms is the switch from coal to natural gas, to power its industrial and household energy needs. While still a fossil fuel, natural gas emits 50 per cent less carbon dioxide than coal.

China imports the largest proportion of its gas from Australia, although it is increasingly seeking to secure supplies from Central Asia and is busy upgrading its infrastructure and pipeline network.

The growth of the natural gas sector and associated industries that this switch is creating is an opportunity for investors, provided they know where to look.

A worker watches as a digger dumps a load of coal at a mine in Huaibei in central China’s Anhui Province in February 2017. China aims to move away from coal as an energy source and is investing heavily in renewable energy. Photo: AP

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Macroscope | From natural gas to electric cars, China’s push towards renewable energy should spark investor interest

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}David Smith says investment opportunities lie in companies that stand to benefit from China’s switch from coal to natural gas, its focus on renewable energy and support for electric vehicles

Macroscope | From natural gas to electric cars, China’s push towards renewable energy should spark investor interest

David Smith says investment opportunities lie in companies that stand to benefit from China’s switch from coal to natural gas, its focus on renewable energy and support for electric vehicles