China is playing a vital role in advancing renewable development and ensuring energy security through its cutting-edge tech breakthroughs, according to the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency(IRENA), who also said recent global energy shocks have highlighted the need to speed up investment in renewables.
Francesco La Camera, IRENA's director-general, was speaking in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in south China's Hainan Province.
The four-day BFA conference, themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation", wrapped up in the coastal town of Boao on Friday after gathering around 2,000 representatives from over 60 countries and regions around the world.
Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation and technological transformation, many discussions at the forum focused on efforts to advance green and sustainable development.
Speaking with CGTN, La Camera outlined the leading role China is playing in driving forward the green transition, particularly with its solar panels and its development of wind turbines, which has seen the country rank first worldwide in installed wind power capacity for 15 consecutive years.
"I think if we focus on China, we may say that China supports the energy transition in two ways. First of all, because China with [its] innovation work on the [solar] panels, on the [wind turbine] blades, they provide tools that make it very convenient to go for renewables. So the decreasing costs of renewables are largely caused by the capacity of China to offer to the market panels and blades at low cost," he said.
"The other aspect is that they are in the part of the world (Asia) where we [see] more installed capacity. More than half of the world's installed capacity happens in China. So when we look at this world, we are clear in mind the support coming from both sides: the demand side and the supply side. So there is also the Belt and Road Initiative of China that has an impact on this," he continued.
La Camera also discussed how the ongoing Middle East conflict has impacted on global energy supplies, especially with the disruption caused to oil prices and concerns over the security of shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply is typically transported.
He said this again highlights the need to accelerate the adoption of renewable sources so as to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.
"We had an [accumulation] of shocks in the last [few] years, with the COVID [pandemic], then the start of the Ukrainian war, and now this last dramatic event [in the Middle East]. And what they brought is volatile prices, disruption in the supply chain. And this has made [it] clearer and clearer that renewables are not just a solution for having a clean energy system. They are also solutions for ensuring energy security. So these events will push more and more governments to work for a long-term independence in some way, and going that direction means more investment in renewables," said La Camera.
China plays vital role in supporting global renewable development: IRENA chief
