By electrifying tens of thousands of buses and taxis, the Chinese City of Guangzhou has transformed its transport system and improved air quality for its 24 million citizens.
The City of Guangzhou, a major city in southern China, is home to over 24 million people and is a thriving commercial centre. Yet with its rapid growth came a serious challenge: urban air pollution.
Authorities in Guangzhou faced rising concerns about the health and wellbeing of its residents, as levels of dangerous PM2.5 particulate matter in the air were increasingly linked to long-term health risks. At the same time, Guangzhou was eager to align with national and regional goals to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and move towards more sustainable energy systems.
The scale of the problem was huge. Millions of daily journeys by bus, taxi, and private car were adding to emissions, creating a cycle of poor air quality and deteriorating public health.
Guangzhou needed a bold, city-wide transformation of its transport system to deliver cleaner air, healthier streets, and a model that could inspire others around the world.
In response, the Guangzhou Public Transport Group and City Municipality joined forces to reimagine urban mobility. Their shared ambition set a new global standard in clean public transport.
Beginning in 2017, the Guangzhou Bus Company led a rapid and large-scale transition to electrify the city’s entire bus fleet and deploy 10,000 electric taxis. After just a few years, Guangzhou was operating one of the world’s largest fully electrified bus networks, with 12,000 electric buses supported by a purpose-built charging network of 400 stations.
The results so far have been dramatic. Within eight years, Guangzhou has reduced nearly 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions, while the concentration of PM2.5 particulate matter in the air has dropped by 40%. These measurable improvements have brought cleaner air, healthier communities, and clear evidence of the benefits of decisive public sector leadership.
Guangzhou’s innovation has not stopped at transport. Retired lithium-iron bus batteries are now being repurposed as storage for solar and wind energy, turning a potential waste challenge into a new source of resilience for the electricity grid. In doing so, Guangzhou has shifted from being a passive energy consumer to a clean energy producer.
Today, Guangzhou is widely recognised as a living laboratory for sustainable transport and energy. While other cities in China may rival it in scale, Guangzhou’s combination of ambition, innovation, and willingness to open-source its model sets it apart as a global benchmark for clean urban transport.
It’s heartening to see Guangzhou’s public transport electrification efforts recognised by The Earthshot Prize for being at the forefront of innovation in public transport and energy management. And this is just the beginning, we have ambitious plans for the future.
The international platform the Prize offers helps us share our learnings and showcase Guangzhou as a blueprint to other cities around the world, showing just what can be achieved when ambitious city leadership and innovative implementation come together.
