China installs record amount of renewable energy in 2024, data shows

The country is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases scientists say drive global warming and climate change.

Beijing has committed to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.

China, the world's second-largest economy, added around 277 gigawatts (GW) of solar power last year, an increase from the 217 GW added from the previous year, the NEA said in a statement.

It also expanded its wind power by nearly 80 GW, the data showed, a slight uptick from nearly 76 GW added in 2023.

The total installed capacity of solar and wind power were around 887 GW and 521 GW respectively.

President Xi Jinping set a target in 2020 for at least 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity installed by 2030.

China surpassed that target last year, almost six years earlier than planned, data from the NEA showed in August.

It has also built almost twice as much wind and solar capacity as every other country combined, according to research published in July.

Beijing invested more than $50 billion in new solar supply capacity from 2011 to 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.

The solar industry has also benefited from access to cheap raw materials, readily available capital from state-owned banks and huge engineering manpower.

China remains heavily reliant on coal despite installing renewable energy capacity at record speed.

But there are signs it may be weaning itself off the fossil fuel.

Coal power permits fell 83 percent in the first half of last year and no new coal-based steelmaking projects were approved in the same period.