China’s Sustainable Energy Transition Path to Low-Carbon Renewable Infrastructure Manufacturing under Green Trade Barriers

Abstract

Facing green trade barriers from developed nations, particularly the EU, based on product carbon footprints, China’s renewable energy industries confront significant challenges in transitioning towards sustainability and low carbon emissions. This study delves into the carbon footprint of China’s renewable infrastructure, evaluating wind turbines, photovoltaic (PV) panels, and lithium batteries across varied decarbonization scenarios, emphasizing both production and international trade transportation. The initial findings for 2022 indicate baseline carbon footprints of 990,701 kg CO2-eq/MW for wind turbines, 2994.97 kg CO2-eq/kWp for PV panels, and 67.53 kg CO2-eq/kWh for batteries. Projections for 2050 suggest that decarbonization advancements could slash these footprints by up to 36.1% for wind turbines, 76.7% for PV panels, and 72.5% for batteries, closely mirroring the EU’s 2050 low-carbon benchmarks. Considerable carbon footprints from both domestic and international transportation have been quantified, underscoring the importance of logistic decarbonization. Based on these results, it is concluded that China’s steadfast commitment to a sustainable and climate-ambitious development path can provide globally competitive, low-carbon renewable infrastructure after 2030. The study advocates for a collaborative approach to product decarbonization across international trade, as opposed to erecting barriers, to effectively contribute to global climate objectives.