Last week, representatives from China’s national Energy Research Institute, the State Grid Energy Research Institute, and others released a new study envisioning a nation powered by 57% renewables in 2030, growing to 86% renewables by 2050, all at the same time as China’s economy grows sevenfold.

Several market operators have instituted capacity markets to bridge the gap between revenue available from energy markets and the all-in cost of desired capacity. But will they deliver the outcomes needed for the energy system transition?

China’s low-carbon future depends on green buildings. With nearly 2 billion square meters of new floor space added each year, China’s building sector offers tremendous opportunities for the country to move toward a cleaner economy.

In 2014, for the first time in history, annual energy-related CO₂ emissions stayed flat while the global economy experienced positive growth. So is this the start of a serious movement to decarbonize the economy? And can we thereby halt runaway climate change and avoid almost unimaginable damage to this country—and indeed the whole Earth?

California is America’s climate policy leader, home to both the country’s biggest clean energy industry and an internationally-linked carbon market being modeled across the world. To build on this momentum, California must go even further.

Electricity is crucial to our modern lifestyle, but gets very little of our attention. Soon enough, though, big players in the electricity space are expecting residential and commercial customers to sit up and take notice of new technologies and businesses coming to an electric meter or plug near them.

As more and more of China’s population moves into urban areas, it is imperative that cities are built with the right design practices, known as The 8 Principles, in mind so they benefit people, the environment and the economy.

Comparing how electricity contracts, markets, and grid operations are evolving in California and the Midwest sheds light on changes that will be necessary as renewable sources like wind and solar begin to form the core of our electricity mix.

During his State of the State address, Governor Brown proposed a goal of 50% renewable energy on California’s electric grid by 2030. Is this bold goal realistic? It all depends on how we choose to integrate renewables onto the grid.

This article describes the social, environmental, and economic benefits of sustainable urban development. Studies have shown that mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods that value public transit development over private car use actually command higher property value. Around the world and in China, more of these people-centered cities are already emerging.