A New Space Race in China

China has begun a gigantic energy transition. It is by far the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, and energy is behind 90% of all its emissions. In fact, just two of China’s industries – steel and cement – account for more CO2 emissions that the whole European Union.

But despite its size, China can change relatively quickly. In 2021, the Chinese Government committed to passing peak CO2 emissions in this decade and reaching net-zero by 2060. Recent work by the IEA suggests China can meet these targets early, with a peak around 2025, and “carbon neutrality well before 2060”.  

“The Government’s strategy provides a clear roadmap which impacts the future of every industry,” says Yue Yu, Head of the SI Digitalization Enablement Center at Siemens in Shanghai. “There will be a greater need for smart infrastructure that can help improve energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions. There will be a continued increase in renewable energy, smart campuses powered by micro-grids, zero-carbon buildings, as well as extensive retrofitting of existing buildings to meet the targets.”

In our survey, China respondents suggest the country has started adopting meaningful sustainability targets relatively late, with 82% saying their organization adopted significant low-carbon or net zero targets for the first time within the past five years, far beyond the average of 66%. However, they expect to gain ground quickly, with 68% saying that their organization will become carbon neutral in, or before, 2025.

Decarbonizing the energy system is impossible without digitalization, and so China will need to continue its strong progress in this area. Unlike all the other countries we surveyed, China respondents do not believe that digitalization in buildings and power networks has fallen behind corresponding progress in most other industries. Similarly, over half of China respondents (52%) say their organization is making full use of available data – a greater proportion than in any other country we surveyed. “In terms of digital transformation, a lot of Chinese enterprises are in a leading position compared with global peers, including those in buildings and energy,” says Yue.

There is also more expected from blockchain secured data flows, contracts, and transactions. Some 43% of China respondents selected this as one of their top three areas expected to have the biggest impact on infrastructure assets, projects, or investments over the next five years. “There is a lot of interest in blockchain applications in China,” says Yue, “businesses consider it an efficient way to tackle data privacy and security issues, and it is also seen as an important way to improve transparency in key areas like food safety, trade security and carbon tracking.”

As China progresses towards its climate targets, advancing digital technologies will only become more important. Modern, digital systems will be essential to the management of more distributed, dynamic electricity systems, to automating energy efficiencies, ensuring stability, and responding to change. Nowhere else on earth will the twin megatrends of decarbonization and digitalization combine at the vast scale expected in China, and nowhere else is it more crucial that they do so successfully.