Challenges and Pathways for Tripling Renewable Energy Capacity Globally by 2030

Renewable electricity has become a major driver of the global energy transition. Since the second half of 2023, there has been a global consensus to triple the installed capacity of renewable energy by 2030. Nevertheless, the substantial scaling up of renewable energy within a decade presents different challenges for countries and regions. Attempts by the United States and Europe to reshape the renewable energy manufacturing landscape by building local industrial chains have also added to the complexity of the situation. This paper analyzes the characteristics and foundational aspects of renewable energy development and summarizes the pathway to triple the renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 proposed by institutions such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). It also examines the pathway’s alignment with China’s objective of increasing the share of non-fossil energy and assesses China’s potential role and contributions in this context. Furthermore, it analyzes both global challenges and those specific to China. This paper comes to the following conclusions: The key to tripling renewable energy capacity globally lies in the development of wind and photovoltaic power; the main challenge is in building energy and power infrastructure, and trade barriers are obstacles to be overcome. China’s market for renewable energy such as wind and photovoltaic power needs to maintain its large scale, and the development and construction model of power sources should be diversified, and flexible resources should be reasonably allocated to enhance the grid’s capacity for accommodation and regulation. Those are important for achieving both the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity globally and the green and low-carbon transformation of domestic energy and support for healthy industrial development. In terms of policy mechanisms, the scale of domestic renewable energy projects should be guaranteed, and the impact of trade barriers should be reduced and resolved, so as to promote China’s manufacturing industry to contribute to tripling renewable energy capacity globally and energy transition.