The Impacts of Chinese Renewable Energy Policies: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis

Developing renewable energy is an important strategy to respond to carbon neutrality, contributing to energy transition and sustainable development in China. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model is employed to study the impacts of renewable energy policies on emission reductions and economic development. The basic data is the Chinese input-output table in 2015. The results show that the expansion of renewable energy can reduce emissions and that the power sectors face significant decreases in emissions compared to other sectors; the high economic growth is more conducive to the optimization of energy consumption structure and creates more favorable conditions for renewable electricity adoption; and the share of renewable electricity will reach 48.88% and 50.02% by 2030 under low and high GDP growth paths, respectively. The increased clean electricity derives mainly from wind power and solar power.