China’s central role in the cleantech revolution

In June I travelled to Beijing to sit down with industry experts, who shared invaluable insights on China’s energy transition. The message was clear, and reinforced by Ember analysis: China’s fossil fuel use is plateauing while clean technologies are surging, signalling a deeper shift in the country’s growth model. The transition they described is no longer abstract. Clean tech is becoming accessible, affordable and visible in daily life. Even my parents in Tianjin recently swapped their old car for an EV! 

After joining Ember in April, one of my first projects was coauthoring our inaugural China Energy Transition Review – a new, annual report which debuted last month. The report fills a gap in understanding on the drivers of China’s energy transition and what this means for the rest of the world. It was an ambitious task for the team to take on such a complex topic, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off my time here.

With that, let’s dive into the rest of this month’s updates. 

Insights, analyses and commentaries

My Top Picks for September

China’s energy transition and the rapid growth of its clean energy technology industry have far-reaching global implications. Notably, the increasing accessibility of these technologies is accelerating clean energy adoption in emerging economies. Exports of Chinese solar panels to Africa illustrate a significant solar uptake across the continent. And around the world, electrification is reshaping energy economics and geopolitical dynamics. 

The Electrotech Revolution

The electrotech revolution is the most profound transformation of the energy system since the shift from biomass to fossil fuels in the 18th century. As electrotech becomes increasingly affordable with exponential growth, a century of evolution is converging into a decade of revolution.

Turning to the sun: Solar rise in Central Europe

Solar power in Central Europe has grown at twice the EU average pace for the last five years. The region historically dependent on coal is becoming Europe’s solar powerhouse and hub for battery technology. 

The first evidence of a take-off in solar in Africa

We have seen a major pick-up in solar panel imports into Africa over the last 12 months – a shift that is likely to impact almost every country across the continent.

There’s more! Here’s what else we published last month

• Thailand’s cost-optimal pathway to a sustainable economy | Read the Report
• Reducing curtailment in Chile: key to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy | Read the Report
• New lines of defence: how interconnectors keep the lights on | Read the Report
• Falling battery costs can unleash Mexico’s full solar potential and boost energy security | Read the Report
• Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record | Read the Report
• Hidden impact of Australian coking coal in steelmaking | Read the Report

Ember in the news

• China Is the Engine’ Driving Nations Away From Fossil Fuels, Report Says | The New York Times
• Why our clean-energy future depends on emerging economies | Reuters
• Wind and solar power fuel over one-third of Brazil’s electricity for first time | AP
• Power Up: How Clean Energy Is Putting Fossil Fuel Demand in Doubt | Read More

What I’m reading

• The electrification of everything | Financial Times
• Green and intelligent: the role of AI in the climate transition | Nature
• Humans Are Altering the Seas. Here’s What the Future Ocean Might Look Like | The New York Times

Visual storytelling corner

Chart of the month

This chart captures a turning point in China’s power transition: wind and solar are no longer peripheral, but central to provincial electricity systems. In 2024, seven provinces generated over a quarter of their electricity from these sources—with Qinghai at 46%, Gansu at 36% and Jilin at 33% leading the way—surpassing the EU average (29%) in most cases. What makes this important is not just the scale of deployment, but the system integration behind it. The focus has shifted from adding capacity to building a “new electricity system” able to balance high shares of renewables. Fittingly, this very graphic inspired the cover of Ember’s China Energy Transition Review 2025.