According to a new report published by a leading Chinese government think tank, China could obtain most of its energy from renewable energy by 2050.

The study found that wind, solar, hydropower, biomass and geothermal energy could produce 60 percent of China's total energy and generate 85 percent of its electricity in 35 years while maintaining stability on the grid.

Under a “high renewable” scenario, the country’s coal use would peak in 2020 and its greenhouse gas emissions would peak by 2025, five years earlier than projected to date.

The report was published by the Energy Research Institute’s National Renewable Energy Center, which belongs to the National Development and Reform Commission. It was compiled in cooperation with various other organizations, and supported by the US and Danish governments.

A PowerPoint summary of the report says that wind and solar energy will become important pillars of the future power supply and that "high renewable energy penetration will help bring back clear water and blue skies".

A similar report published by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2012 says that the US could get 80% of its electricity from renewables by 2050.

The findings offer crucial impetus to the global climate agreement which is to be concluded at the UN climate change conference in Paris in December.

Read the E&E and the RTCC articles on the report

Image: Energy Research Institute, China National Development and Reform Commission