China is on track to generate more electricity from renewable energy by 2035 than the U.S., the European Union, and Japan combined, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report. In its World Energy Outlook report, the IEA also said that by 2035 renewable energy sources — wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass — will make up more than 30 percent of the world’s electricity supply, surpassing natural gas and rivaling coal as the leading energy source. Wind and solar photovoltaic power will see especially large gains, helping renewable energy account for nearly half the increase in global power generation over the next two decades, the IEA said. Carbon emissions related to energy generation will likely rise by 20 percent over that time, the report said, but policies and initiatives in the U.S., China, Europe, and Japan may help limit those emissions. “The right combination of policies and technologies is proving that the links between economic growth, energy demand and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions can be weakened,” the IEA said.
China’s Renewable Power Sector Set to Outpace Rest of World by 2035
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long