Day Three of the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Summit: Nobel Laureates, Academicians, and Corporate Executives Discuss Green Transformation in the AI Era

Li Wenjie, Deputy Director of the Suzhou Industrial Park Urban Development Research Institute, stated that AI tools can significantly reduce enterprises’ workload in document organization and data analysis; however, enterprises must still ensure data compliance, verify data authenticity, and conduct professional proofreading. Tang Yu, Assistant General Manager and Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Insurance Company (China) Ltd., noted that insurance institutions are among the most ESG-oriented financial entities within the broader financial supply chain or financial sector. From a business-structure perspective, their operations fall into two categories: the liability side and the investment side. Liabilities originate from insurance premiums paid by individuals and enterprises—insurance institutions assume and transfer these societal risks. The transition risks faced by society can, for the most part, be transferred and mitigated through insurance companies. Global Sustainable Finance—Standard Enhancement, Carbon Accounting, and Market Practice Innovation Eric Usher, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), stated that the global low-carbon transition has moved from consensus to action and from vision to reality. “The need to address climate change has never been clearer. Record-breaking heatwaves are sweeping across the globe; extreme weather events—including wildfires, floods, and droughts—are increasing in frequency and intensity, posing ever-greater risks to our economies, societies, and well-being,” said Eric Usher. Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, remarked that the impacts of climate change are accelerating, demanding faster emissions reductions and systemic transformation—achieving climate goals while advancing more equitable development. Katrin Harvey, Secretary-General of F20, observed that the global green transition stands at a critical juncture. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), clean energy now accounts for over 90% of global annual新增 power generation capacity additions and contributes approximately one-tenth to global GDP growth. Technologies such as electric heating, green hydrogen, and low-emission steel production have advanced beyond conceptual stages into practical application across manufacturing and heavy industry. Frédéric Samama, Associate Professor at Sciences Po Paris and author of *The Climate Inaction Puzzle*, described climate change as an intricate puzzle. “This challenge has been widely recognized—and the alarm bells have been ringing for over half a century. We have all personally experienced wildfires, heatwaves, droughts, typhoons, and countless other manifestations.” In his view, this is a crisis entirely of humanity’s own making—one threatening the very survival of our species. AI Development and the Future of Human Energy Lars Tvede, renowned Nordic financial investor and author of *The Economics of Boom and Bust*, commented on “wealth distribution”: “Another term that immediately comes to mind is ‘wealth creation.’ The most sustainable way to achieve fair wealth distribution is through wealth creation itself—not by attempting to redistribute funds among people, but by empowering people to create their own wealth. This approach proves highly effective.” Carmen Nuzzo, Practitioner Professor and Executive Director of the TPI Global Centre for Climate Transition at the London School of Economics and Political Science, delivered a keynote speech via video link, explaining how investors can translate climate evidence into concrete action. Nuzzo pointed out that investors’ use cases are highly diverse—from risk assessment and supporting investment decisions, to helping construct net-zero investment portfolios and meeting various reporting and disclosure requirements.

Lifecycle Analysis and Market Size Forecast for China’s New Energy Industry, 2026–2030

I. Executive Summary (A) Key Conclusions The global new energy industry (primarily wind and solar power) has collectively crossed both the “growth inflection point” and the “chasm threshold,” and is now in the mid-to-late phase of the rapid-growth stage along its S-curve trajectory. According to IRENA’s *Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026*, global renewable energy installed capacity reached 5,149 GW by end-2025, with 692 GW added that year—an increase of 15.5%. Renewables now account for 49.4% of total global power generation capacity. As the dominant sources, cumulative solar PV capacity reached 2,392 GW, and cumulative wind power capacity reached 1,291 GW. In terms of electricity generation, Ember’s *Global Electricity Review 2026* shows renewables contributed 33.8% of global electricity generation in 2025—surpassing coal-fired power (33.0%) for the first time in a century, marking a historic turning point in the global power structure. China’s new energy industry leads globally. Data from China’s National Energy Administration show that by end-2025, national renewable energy installed capacity reached 2.34 billion kW, accounting for 60% of total national power generation capacity; cumulative wind and solar PV capacity reached 1.84 billion kW, representing 47.3% of total capacity—historically exceeding thermal power. Wind and solar generation totaled 2.3 trillion kWh, accounting for 22.1% of total national electricity consumption. From a lifecycle perspective: the global new energy industry is in the mid-to-late growth stage (penetration rate ~35%, approaching the 50% diffusion inflection point); China’s new energy industry is transitioning from the growth stage toward maturity (installed capacity penetration rate: 47.3%; expected to cross the 50% inflection point within 1–2 years). The core growth logic for both has shifted from “policy-driven” to “dual drivers”—cost competitiveness and market demand. BloombergNEF data indicate that in 2025, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for onshore wind was approximately USD 40/MWh, and for fixed-axis solar PV, approximately USD 39/MWh—both less than half the cost of building new natural gas power plants (over USD 100/MWh). (B) Investment/Strategic Recommendations Global Perspective: The new energy industry remains in its golden window of rapid capacity expansion. IEA’s *Renewables 2025* report forecasts that global renewable energy installed capacity will increase by ~4,600 GW between 2025 and 2030—double the increment over the previous five years. Priority investment should focus on the photovoltaic supply chain (accounting for ~75% of new renewable capacity additions) and the wind power supply chain (where China contributes nearly three-quarters of global new wind capacity). China Perspective: The new energy industry has entered a structural turning point—shifting emphasis from “scale expansion” to “grid integration and absorption.” In 2025, China’s nationwide wind curtailment rate stood at 5.7% and solar curtailment rate at 5.2%, resulting in 251.8 billion kWh of curtailed wind and solar electricity. Investment logic must pivot from “capacity growth” to system-integration areas such as grid modernization, energy storage deployment, and intelligent dispatch. By end-2025, China’s new-energy storage capacity reached 136 million kW / 35.1 billion kWh—a year-on-year increase of 84%. Risk Warnings: Four key risks warrant vigilance—(1) worsening grid absorption bottlenecks (national wind utilization rate dropped to 91.5% and solar utilization rate to 90.8% in Jan–Feb 2026); (2) IEA has downgraded its 2025–2030 global renewable capacity addition forecast by 5% year-on-year—equivalent to a reduction of 24.8 GW; (3) price volatility and profitability pressure across the PV supply chain; and (4) geopolitical tensions and trade barrier risks.

World to Add Less Clean Energy Capacity This Year, Renewables Agency Chief Says

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IRENA chief warns global clean energy capacity additions will decline in 2026 due to transmission network mismatches and trade barriers, highlighting significant curtailment in China despite record 2025 growth.

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World to Add Less Clean Energy Capacity This Year, Renewables Agency Chief Says

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