China heads into 2024 with relatively loose policy settings, but private sector sentiment constrained by property pessimism. Policy efforts will reduce left tail risks but we don't expect it will be sufficient to prevent the growth downtrend persisting. Recognizing an upside risk that authorities could instead stimulate their way to a high growth target in 2024.
Ahead of this spring's Two Sessions, we expect officials to realistically stake their growth target at around 4.5% in 2024 – a more sustainable, though likely still above-potential, pace than in 2023.
This 5-page report identifies five key themes that will shape our Industry Climate Service research agenda over the course of 2024. The energy transition will have a significant impact on industrial activity this decade across several dimensions. Alongside the need for industry to urgently decarbonise its own activities, it will also play an instrumental role in the production of the low-carbon technologies necessary for decarbonisation in other sectors of the economy.
We have identified five key challenges Africa faces in transitioning to renewable energy at the scale needed to combat climate change and meet the continent's climate commitments. Perhaps the central challenge is the prevailing socio-economic conditions on the continent, which offer little wiggle room for governments to divert fiscal revenue to sustainability-related initiatives. With most African economies being relatively undiversified and many reliant on fossil fuel exports, the global transition to sustainable practices threatens economic losses if not mitigated ‒ emphasising the need to diversify economic activity.
