Illegal steel factories dodge China emissions laws. (Photo : Getty Images)
The National Energy Administration announced that the Chinese government will be investing $361 billion in renewable energy projects and will see to it that China will be independent of coal energy by 2020.
Solar energy will also be a major investment as there will be a ready fund of 1 trillion yuan from the government to boost the country's production by five times, according to the National Reform and Defense Council.
Steven Han, the renewable analyst with securities firm Shenyin Wanguo, said, "The government may exceed these targets because there are more investment opportunities in the sector as costs go down."
The government's efforts are predicted to bring 13 million jobs.
China's string push for innovations in green technology puts into question the U.S. intentions of backing out of the Paris climate agreement.
According to Tom Murray from the Environmental Defense Fund, "because if President-elect Trump follows through on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, he won't just be turning a blind eye to the science of climate change, he'll be hurting American businesses."
He added that climate progress creates jobs, innovation and investment opportunities in the clean energy economy, and protections for clean air and natural resources provide guardrails for long-term business resilience.
The environmentalist noted that if the U.S. slips to second in the global ranking for clean energy initiatives, it will bring more opportunities to China as well as Europe.
He said: "By shirking America's responsibilities as the world's leading innovator and second largest emitter, Trump and his cabinet would be ringing the dinner bell for China and the European Union to assume the global leadership role on climate and clean energy, with all the job growth and economic opportunities that go with it."
