- Countries are accelerating the transition to new energy

It’s not a trade war, nor a technology war—but an energy war. When European households receive electricity bills tripled in cost, when Chinese photovoltaic panels blanket the Gobi Desert, and when Middle Eastern oil giants pivot to hydrogen production—the underlying logic of the global economy is being fundamentally rewritten. 01 Europe’s Anxiety: Electricity Prices Triple—Crisis or Opportunity? "Electricity prices in Europe have tripled." This is not a rumor—it is today’s reality. Geopolitical conflicts have plunged Europe into unprecedented energy anxiety; yet crises often incubate opportunities. "Under today’s highly uncertain geopolitical conditions, green fuels represent an exceptionally clear and certain development direction. Investing in this sector now promises exceptionally high returns in the future." This is the expert consensus—and also the reality reflected by European governments’ policy actions. Germany has announced accelerated approval procedures for photovoltaic and wind power projects; France has unveiled a €100-billion new-energy plan; And the UK has gone further, declaring its goal to achieve full clean-energy coverage by 2030. Yet Europeans have realized a problem: lacking core technologies, they seek to compensate with capital—but the critical technologies reside in China. 02 China’s Comeback: From Follower to Leader Not long ago, China was an outright "beginner" in the energy sector. But fortunes change. In 2026, China ranks first globally in installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power, and has consistently contributed the largest share of annual global growth for many years running. This is no accident—it is inevitable. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), China’s total installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 8.5%. What does that mean? It means the amount of new clean-energy capacity added each year exceeds the total installed capacity of most countries. The China Petrochemical Economics & Technology Research Institute’s *World and China Energy Outlook 2060 (2026 Edition)* explicitly states: "China is becoming the global leader in energy transition." The weight of this statement may exceed your imagination. 03 Three Converging Variables: Geopolitical Conflict + Technological Breakthrough + Policy Dividends Why 2026? Why now? The answer is simple: three variables have converged—creating a historic window of opportunity. First: Geopolitical conflict as catalyst. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the global energy supply chain has been thoroughly disrupted. Europe has been forced into a painful "break-up" with fossil fuels—accelerating its decoupling from hydrocarbon dependence. Though painful, this has pushed the global energy transition into fast-forward mode. Second: Technological breakthroughs. Photovoltaic conversion efficiency continues to break records; wind turbines are growing larger in scale; and energy storage costs keep falling.

Hengjia Daily | November 8, 2026 (Sunday)

According to information obtained by reporters from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: In the first three quarters of this year, a total of 16,000 urban and rural old residential communities across the country have completed renovation, while renovation work is underway in another 13,000 communities—benefiting 5.02 million households. During these renovations, localities collectively upgraded over 7,200 kilometers of aging water, electricity, gas, and heating pipelines; carried out age-friendly and barrier-free renovations in more than 2,800 communities; added 86,000 parking spaces; implemented building energy-efficiency retrofits covering 9.54 million square meters; and installed over 10,000 charging stations for electric vehicles and e-bikes. This year, RMB 30.9 billion in ultra-long-term special treasury funds has been allocated to support the replacement of 197,000 outdated residential elevators nationwide; since 2024, such funding has cumulatively supported elevator replacements totaling 364,000 units—benefiting 14.57 million households—with 192,000 units already completed. Additionally, in the first three quarters, complete community construction and renovation were implemented in 976 communities, adding 2,336 community public service facilities and 1,867 convenient commercial service facilities—benefiting 3.632 million households. (Source: People’s Daily) 5. Subsidized vocational skills training exceeded 8 million person-times in the first three quarters; industry-education-evaluation ecosystem chains drove training for 280,000 person-times Reporters learned from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that, this year, large-scale vocational skills training has been conducted across industries and sectors. In the first three quarters, subsidized training exceeded 8 million person-times. The Ministry has fully launched the “Skills Illuminate Futures” training initiative, widely promoting training models including industry-education-evaluation integration, order-based training, and project-based training, and coordinating with sectoral regulatory authorities to advance training by industry. By end-September, 379 industry-education-evaluation skill ecosystem chains had been cultivated nationwide, involving 3,190 enterprises and driving training for 280,000 person-times. The Ministry stated it will thoroughly implement the *“15th Five-Year” Employment Priority Strategy Implementation Plan* and fully enforce the *Opinions on Adapting to the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies to Foster Employment-Friendly Development Models*, guiding localities to widely conduct AI-related technical skills training, fully tapping employment potential in both productive and consumer services, and intensifying efforts to promote employment among key groups. This signals that AI skills training is shifting from enterprise-initiated activity to a planned, subsidized component of public employment services. (Source: People’s Daily) 6. [AI] *Global Energy Transition Report (2026)* Released: China’s Renewable Energy System Is the World’s Largest and Fastest-Growing On November 7, the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association released the *Global Energy Transition Report (2026)*. The report shows that China has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system: supplying 70% of global wind-power equipment and 80% of global photovoltaic components, driving down global wind and solar photovoltaic generation costs by over 60% and 80%, respectively; China’s total energy investment in 2026 is projected to reach USD 940 billion—the highest globally. The report notes that in 2025, global carbon dioxide emissions related to energy rose by 0.4% year-on-year to 3.84 billion tons—the lowest growth rate since 2021—with China’s carbon emissions declining by 0.5% and U.S. emissions rising by 2.4%. Peng Huagang, President of the Association, explained that in the first half of this year, coal-fired power’s share of China’s electricity generation dropped to 49.7%—falling below 50% for the first time—marking coal power’s transition from a primary power source to a backup safety net and system regulation resource.

China Set to Lead World in Energy Investment in 2026, CCTV Says

14 hours ago

China is set to lead global energy investment with $940 billion in 2026, prioritizing renewables and grid infrastructure. Coal's share of electricity generation fell below 50% as the country supplies the majority of worldwide wind and solar equipment.

bloomberg

2026-11-07

China Set to Lead World in Energy Investment in 2026, CCTV Says

China Set to Lead World in Energy Investment in 2026, CCTV Says

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