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ISLAMABAD, Jun 5 (APP):Renewables First has launched a new report titled “Leader of One or Leader of None -China’s Choice for Clean over Coal in Pakistan,” which explores China’s growing paradoxes in the Global South as a clean energy powerhouse and fossil fuel financier, with Pakistan as a critical case in point.
Renewables First is a Pakistan-based think tank dedicated to advancing sustainable energy solutions and environmental conservation. Through research, collaboration, and innovative initiatives, Renewables First aims to drive positive change in Pakistan’s energy sector and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change, said a press release on Thursday.
The exit of the United States from the Paris Agreements threw international climate action into a state of frenzy, with the world left speculating who, if anyone, might step in to lead the efforts against climate change. A few de-facto contenders have emerged, not necessarily official leaders, but influential forces shaping the transition globally.
Paradoxically, it is the world’s largest emitter that stands out – China, which is now a global powerhouse in clean energy manufacturing. It is supplying tools in the form of renewable energy technologies that much of the world is using to fight climate change.
Recently, these very tools have sparked quite an energy shift in Pakistan in the form of Solar Rush, which is driven not by government declarations or boardroom decisions, but by rooftops, farms, and factory sheds.
In just five years, more than 39 GW of solar panels, nearly all from China, have entered the country, enough to exceed three-quarters of Pakistan’s installed national generation capacity. Yet the world has hardly noticed or understood what
it means for global climate leadership.
The report unpacks this transformation, highlighting China’s dual role in the Global South, as both a major financier of fossil fuels and a leading supplier of solar and wind technologies. The report demystifies the Solar Rush, dissecting how one of the world’s fastest-growing, people-led solar markets materialized not through grand strategy, but through open competition, favorable trade policy, and a flood of low-priced technology.
From 2020 to early 2025, China exported more solar panels to Pakistan than to many G20 nations, with over 16 GW imported in 2024 alone, and the momentum continues. Yet as solar thrived, coal investments began turning into high-risk assets, with the country still hosting billions of dollars in Chinese-financed coal-fired power plants.
As solar slashed grid demand and made self-generation more viable, these legacy plants, once seen as anchors
of energy security, began to sink. Utilization of these power plants fell to as low as 4 percent in some projects by 2024. Capacity payments ballooned. And electricity from the grid grew more expensive for those still reliant on it.
“China’s solar panels are outcompeting China’s power plants,” says Muhammad Basit Ghauri, lead author of the report. “What we are seeing is an unintentional but profound strategic contradiction. And Pakistan is ground zero for this global experiment in energy disruption.”
At the heart of the report lies a fundamental question: “Whether China truly embraces its role as the world’s clean energy champion or defaults to a status quo that leaves its biggest investments at risk and its global leadership unfulfilled?”
The report makes clear that opportunity is still alive but shrinking. With distributed solar now displacing centralized generation, Pakistan does not just need panels.
It needs storage systems, grid upgrades, local manufacturing, financing tools and a pathway to move away from stranded coal assets.
Pakistan may be the first to experience this clash between legacy coal and democratized solar at this scale, but it will not be the last. If China gets this right, it will not just lead to Pakistan’s energy transition. It will prove itself as the architect of a new Global South energy paradigm, one that is fast, fair, and truly transformative.