Reliance on nascent technology leaves little scope for slow progress. The IEA’s net-zero energy roadmap is reliant on nascent technologies to varying degrees (most notably, hydrogen and CCUS), similar to scenarios analysed by IPCC. This highlights the urgency of accelerating the current pace of energy decarbonisation in all countries, including China, given the substantial uncertainties and discord that surround those nascent energy technologies.

Energy decarbonisation requires immediate action, tailored to each countries’ context. The IEA points out that its roadmap ‘provides a global view, but countries do not start in the same place or finish at the same time’. This reflects the need for countries to set out their own paths to net-zero energy emissions by considering their specific circumstances, such as energy endowment, developmental stage, income level, and so on. This, however, should not be considered as a call to delay climate actions. Instead, it is a call for all major countries (including China) to take immediate actions to decarbonise their energy sectors so that the rest of the world can have more flexibility in their own decarbonisation processes. This will not only help China achieve its national aspiration of developing an ‘ecological civilisation’, but also demonstrate to the world that China is a responsible great power.

Technological innovation is critical for delivering mid-century net zero goals. The IEA report shows that by 2050, almost half of the global emissions reductions will depend on new technologies currently in the demonstration or prototype stage, including hydrogen and CCUS. This highlights the criticality of technological innovation in attaining a net-zero energy system. The ‘spectacular’ cost reduction (82%) for solar PV over the past 10 years or so shows us that it is completely feasible to achieve rapid technological development by leaps and bounds, but this really depends on whether immediate actions can be undertaken to set innovation in action.