The Sustainability Year in Stories: December 2024

January 04, 2025

undefined mins

China is driving the global renewables industry

We look at the articles that made the news in 2024. Today, it is December's turn, featuring Schneider Electric, China's renewables industry and Toyota

China is Set to Produce Half the World's Renewables by 2030

According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) renewable energy report for 2024, China's efforts are set to make a monumental impact.

By 2030, it's projected that China will account for more than half of the global renewable energy capacity, pivoting significantly away from its previous dependence on coal.

This dramatic upswing is fuelled by the country's heavy investment in solar technology, positioning it to represent 60% of the upcoming renewable projects globally.

The IEA highlights a significant boost in the adoption of renewable energy, supported by a reduction in costs and strengthened governmental backing.

Predictions state that solar energy will drive 80% of the new green energy worldwide by the decade's end, with increased allocations for geothermal, hydro and wind power developments.

The IEA’s Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol, encapsulates this trend succinctly: "If I could sum this up in two words they would be: China, solar."

Renewable energy

Decoding the IEA’s report

The 2024 IEA renewable energy report dissects trends and forecasts in global renewable energy, providing a blueprint for future developments.

It's an essential guide for policymakers and industry leaders, which aims to expand understanding and catalyse further action towards achieving energy and climate goals.

What exactly does the report say? Well, it suggests that, by 2030, renewable energy capabilities will have increased by 2.7%, surpassing initial government targets by 25%.

However, it also acknowledges that this impressive growth does not quite meet the triple capacity targets needed.

In particular, China is receiving huge praise for its substantial contributions, particularly in solar and wind sectors, where it’s expected to contribute 60% to the new global renewable capacity.

Despite some challenges, such as supply chain constraints and integration issues within the grid, the report is optimistic about overcoming these through improved policies and innovations in renewable fuels and energy storage solutions.

Christophe de Maistre, Segment President for Energies and Chemicals at Schneider Electric

Schneider Leader: Why We Need Paradigm Shift on Plastics

The atmosphere is far from light among sustainability leaders, in the wake of the depressing failure to agree a global plastics treaty at the INC-5 Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Despite involving the leaders of 200 nations, alongside their best negotiators, the talks ended on Sunday without a treaty.

A new summit will convene next year, building on a draft text that has been developing during INC-5.

The text itself is controversial, with many nations and organisations believing no deal was a better option than a deal without teeth.

The Busan summit was expected to be the climax of two years of talks, but it ended with a continuation of the gulf between countries lobbying for a comprehensive deal and those nations whose economies are tied to continued demand for the fossil fuel-based material.

More than 100 countries had backed a proposal spearheaded by Panama, pushing for a global target to reduce plastic production to “sustainable levels”.

But it is understood that Saudi Arabia coordinated a push from oil-rich and plastic-producing countries to block any proposals for the treaty that threatened to reduce plastic production. The vast majority of plastic is made from oil or natural gas.

Christophe de Maistre, Segment President for Energies and Chemicals at Schneider Electric, reacts to the news and offers his thoughts on why, even without the treaty in place, we need to accelerate our progress toward circularity.

Are there ways, without a treaty, to drive circularity?

Even without the treaty in place, we must expedite our progress toward circularity.

Our initial focus should be on integrating seamless connections to recycling facilities within our infrastructure and supply chains while enhancing sorting techniques through innovations like AI and embedded digital product watermarks.

To bolster circularity further, this process must be met with the implementation of advanced chemical recycling methods and improved mechanical recycling.

You want to see a ‘paradigm shift’. Can you explain it?

Many existing tools available today can help make sustainable plastic recycling a reality, especially when combined with new technologies like software-defined automation for example, which offers the flexibility needed to respond to a dynamic market, allowing for rapid adjustments in operations to enable it to scale.

Furthermore, industry and businesses at large should also look to limit the consumption of single-use plastics.

At Schneider Electric, we are committed to realise 100% of our primary and secondary packaging, free from single-use plastic and use only recycled cardboard by 2025.

To achieve this requires a systemic shift from the traditional linear model of "take-make-dispose" to a regenerative approach that involves designing and utilising products that are durable, repairable and recyclable.

Encouraging this paradigm shift in industry, alongside driving collaboration to support the growth of the advanced recycling sector, will be key to reducing plastic consumption and waste.