Mongolian mining company says copper exports have dropped due to China border restrictions

New analysis reveals that China's clean-tech exports in 2026 could cut emissions by a significant 2%. These exports encompass solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and more. Lauri Myllyvirta, a lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, authored this guest post.

Carbon Brief utilized detailed data on clean-tech product exports, the electricity systems in destination countries, and emissions during manufacturing in China for their calculations. If these trends persist throughout 2026, Chinese clean-tech exports alone will prevent approximately 450 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, a figure comparable to Brazil's annual emissions.

Other key findings include the growth of electric car and heavy vehicle shipments by 61% and wind-turbines by 45% year-on-year in Q3 2026, along with 39% growth in batteries, 22% in solar, and 21% in electric two-wheelers. Over the lifetime of these exported items, the 2026 export totals are expected to avoid 8,400 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the annual emissions of both the United States and India combined, a 25% increase from the 2025 figure of 6,800 million tonnes and a 167% rise from 2024's 5,000 million tonnes.