By Chen Ziqi
For the past two decades, APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, has been reshaping the Asia-Pacific’s approach to growth. Since the 2011 Honolulu Leaders’ Declaration, APEC has placed “green growth” at the heart of its agenda, showing progress and environmental sustainability don’t have to be at odds.
Energy: the cornerstone of APEC’s green transformation
Energy lies at the very core of this transformation. As the foundation of both economic expansion and environmental protection, improving energy efficiency has become central APEC’s collective commitments.
In 2011, APEC economies agreed to reduce energy intensity, the amount of energy used per unit of GDP, to 45% by 2035, compared with 2005 levels.
Progress has been strong. According to the APEC Energy Review 2025, the region is on track to meet the 45% target by 2032, three years ahead of schedule. Today, APEC economies account for about 56% of global energy demand and 60% of CO₂ emissions. Despite challenges such as the post-pandemic rebound in energy use and global market disruptions, the region’s collective efforts have already avoided billions of tons of emissions and saved trillions of dollars in energy costs.
China’s carbon-cutting drive
Alongside industrial efficiency, natural ecosystems are pulling their weight too. Data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration show that China’s stock volume has exceeded 20 billion cubic meters. These natural carbon sinks absorb about 1.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ each year, equals around 3% of global emissions.
Building on these twin tracks of efficiency and ecosystem restoration, China is also exploring next-generation clean energy technologies to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
One example is green hydrogen. China has hit a major milestone in green hydrogen, launching its first large-scale project with over 10,000 tonnes of annual output. This aligns with APEC’s identification last year of green hydrogen as a potential key driver of the region’s low-carbon transition.
Together with nationwide efforts to improve energy efficiency and restore ecosystems, such advances demonstrate China’s continued progress toward a green transition and serve as a model for other APEC economies exploring renewable solutions.
Powering the region: China’s role in APEC sustainability
China’s leadership in clean energy extends far beyond its borders. From cross-border hydropower grids to innovative energy storage projects, its efforts are helping drive sustainable development across the Asia-Pacific.
China has a long history of hydropower development, generating approximately 1,226 terawatt-hours of hydroelectric power in 2023. According to International Banker, a UK-based financial and business publication, this output is roughly three times that of either Brazil or Canada individually, making China the world’s largest producer of hydropower.
Building on this leadership, China has established power grid interconnections with countries in the Lancang-Mekong region, including Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. Around 90% of the electricity transmitted through these grids comes from renewable sources, primarily hydropower. The result: greater energy security, lower fossil fuel reliance, and a smaller carbon footprint across borders.
China’s influence also extends to regional clean energy storage. In 2022, Singapore commissioned a large-scale energy storage system on Jurong Island, constructed by Chinese companies.
Completed three years ahead of Singapore’s 2025 target of 200 megawatts of storage capacity, the project enhances grid stability and the reliability of renewable energy supply. During cloudy or rainy conditions, the system releases stored electricity to stabilize fluctuations in the grid, and its lithium iron phosphate batteries ensure a safe, environmentally friendly solution suitable for Singapore’s dense urban environment.
Green cooperation among APEC economies has proven that economic growth and sustainability don’t have to pull in opposite directions. China’s efforts in green transition, along with its support for neighboring countries, show how one nation’s progress can drive broader regional sustainability. By combining domestic achievements with regional cooperation, these efforts pave the way for a low-carbon, resilient, and prosperous Asia-Pacific.
As APEC economies continue to collaborate on clean energy, technology, and innovation, they’re charting into a better future where growth truly works with the planet, not against it.
About the author: Chen Ziqi is a reporter from CGTN Radio, China
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Yeah but, the Tangerine Terror reckons it’s all bullshit…oh, who to believe?
Harry, at the same time Tony Abbott was declaring that “China is doing nothing about climate change so why should we?” my stepdaughter was actually in China during her PhD studies in molecular biology. Her comment to me? “Don’t believe what Tony Abbott says. They’re truly advanced.”
An Australian, btw, Dr Anthony Horton was the climate change consultant for the Chinese mining undustry.
Yes Michael,Abbott is in a constant state of derangement,blinded by his own stupidity.We would all have been better off if he followed through on his sky pilot delusions.
It’s astounding that these halfwits still wander around spouting their nonsense…might be something to do with the quality of our media…when does the cricket start?And why hasn’t Randy Andy been punted into the gorse?
4-Corners last night (3Nov2025) seemed hell-bent on framing in dire militaristic tones the Critical Minerals (esp Zirconium) story as an us vs them (where ‘us’ is the ‘western’ alliance and ‘them’ is China & latterly Russia). Tones that may suit the stories peddled by the ‘western alliance’, in particular the maintenance of the USA militaristic hegemon. Which of course gave rise to China’s military growth to protect itself from the ravages wrought on it by the ‘west’ over 100+ years.
The story could have been about so much more than, for the purpose only of ‘sensation’, the ‘fear and loathing’ line .
It could have ventured further into the other important uses of Critical Minerals, China’s cleverness in determinedly pursuing them for decades longer than the ‘west’. And the brutally high cost lessons China learned about environmental & human health costs in bringing them to market. China is still paying monumental amounts to clean up its past messes.
Whilst it talked about China’s involvement in Oz corps mining zirconium, it framed it as a negative. Not once did it venture that China may bring to the table the lessons it had learned, and OHSE and clinical standards it had since adopted both in mining and processing. And I note that the ‘west’ (incl Oz) does not have any such standards based on proper scientific clinical research, in fact it has not even done the clinical research. Any measures the ‘west’ has taken are simply ad hoc.
The Albo / T-Rump Critical Minerals ‘deal’ is a load of ‘Trojan Horse’ blather, especially where T-Rump says it’ll be right to go in about a year. That should be: if and only if investors can be found that would be willing to take on the huge requisite research and huge risks over many decades. Oh, but wait! T-Rump’s USA has ditched all those requirements, and Oz seems to be in the process of doing so.
Oz has more than 90% of the world’s zirconium resources, and China about 1%. For a decade or more, Australia has been providing at least 41% of China’s zirconium needs. The question to ask is, ‘Has Oz learned any technological measures from China about zirconium processing, or for that matter, the mining and processing of any other (Rare Earth) Critical Minerals?
Whilst Abbott, the Nats and LPA continue to ride high in the saddle, the 4-Corners viewers, the Critical Minerals workers involved and those in the neighborhood of the mines and processing facilities have a right to know.