Chinese exports of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and EVs prevented 374 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions last year, more than the annual emissions of the UK, new analysis found. The findings from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air show how rapidly falling solar and battery prices are starting to transform energy systems around the world: Solar panel exports to South Asia alone were responsible for almost a third of the avoided emissions.
China’s clean energy manufacturing boom is powering the global energy transition at a time when the US has pulled out of the “battlefield”, former US climate envoy John Kerry told Bloomberg. On Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump prepared to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington, the White House argued that an extension to the US-China trade truce, which paused tit-for-tat tariffs above 100% until January, would give the two sides more time to work on a bigger deal.