China advances energy-saving, low-carbon development

China reduced energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2022 amid efforts to promote high-quality and green development, according to an official statistical communique published on Tuesday.

Last year, the country’s energy consumption per 10,000 yuan (about 1,438.46 U.S. dollars) of gross domestic product decreased by 0.1 per cent from 2021, while CO2 emissions per 10,000 yuan of GDP fell 0.8 per cent year on year.

According to the communique released on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China accelerated the green transformation of development while stabilising the economy in 2022.

It witnessed the country’s ecological condition continuously improving and the formation of green and low-carbon production and lifestyles sped up, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS.

China has continued to advance the low-carbon transformation of energy consumption, seeing rapid growth of clean energy production and continuous expansion of non-fossil energy consumption, Sheng said.

Last year, the power generation of clean energy, such as hydro, wind, solar and nuclear energy, rose 8.5 per cent year on year.

Non-fossil energy consumption went up 0.8 percentage points to account for 17.5 per cent of the country’s total power consumption.