In an impressive show of commitment to combating climate change, China contributed $132 billion to clean technology for developing nations last year.
Beijing/Washington DC/London: China sent $132 billion in clean technology and investment to the developing world last year, by far the largest contribution to carbon-dioxide reduction of any country. In fact, the nation’s green-manufacturing juggernaut, built in part through heavy subsidies from Beijing, nearly matches the current total of grants, loans and private finance that all wealthy countries sent to poorer ones in 2024 to help fight climate change, according to a Reuters analysis. The total included clean-tech exports and an estimated $40 billion in Chinese FDI in clean-tech projects in developing countries, based on data compiled by researchers at London School of Economics. It nearly matched the $137 billion in climate finance wealthy nations provided poorer countries in 2024 under UN pledges, according to OECD. Most global climate finance takes the form of loans, a 2024 Reuters investigation found. Once deployed, last year’s exports will help Global South avoid 257 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equal to France’s yearly CO2 emissions, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. This year’s exports are on track to avoid 337 MtCO2 there. Beijing has shown little interest in turning commercial strength into diplomatic leadership since Trump withdrew the US from international climate cooperation in 2025.
Li Shuo, head of China Climate Hub at Asia Society Policy Institute, said China’s manufacturing boom offered another pathway beyond rich-country finance: lowering clean-technology prices through innovation and scale until developing countries adopt it for economic reasons. “You can align it to your economic agenda,” he said. The figures are not directly comparable. China’s contribution comprises commercial clean-energy transactions, while climate finance also supports areas such as climate-resilient agriculture and recovery from disasters. Reuters calculated Chinese clean-tech exports using customs data for countries OECD classifies as developing.
