Major environmental protection achievements during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15)

The Sanmen nuclear power plant under construction in Zhejiang province. China has 23 nuclear reactors in operation and 26 under construction. [Photo/Xinhua]

5. Clean energy

China's spending on renewable energy during the current 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) will reach 1.8 trillion yuan ($294 billion) in addition to a further 2.3 trillion yuan being spent on energy saving and reducing emissions, according to Xie Zhenhua, then deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission in 2013.

China vows it will reduce its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by about 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level and raise its non-fossil energy consumption percentage to 15 percent of the primary energy mix.

China retained its global top spot for clean energy investment in 2014, with surging demand especially in both solar and wind. According to The Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, the country's investment in clean energy last year hit a record $89.5 billion, a 32 percent rise on 2013, accounting for about 29 percent of the world's total. By the end of 2014, China had installed 430 million kilowatts in total renewable energy power generation,

In the coming years, China is on track to launch more nuclear power projects, which were suspended following the nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima, Japan in 2011. The country is also drawing up regulations to better protect the safe use of nuclear energy.

China is constructing the world's biggest wind and hydro projects in terms of installed capacities. As the Central government pledged to curb carbon emissions, a great amount of clean energy is set to fill the void left by plants powered by coal.