China
Action Plan for Carbon Dioxide Peaking before 2030 (‘1+N’)
Executive
Action Plan
Mitigation Framework
Passed in 2021
This Action Plan aims to enable carbon dioxide peaking by 2030 and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality. It covers the 14th and 15th five-year plan periods. It seeks to strengthen the government's ability to mobilise the nation as a whole and involve the private sector into the decarbonisation efforts. It highlights 1) the promotion of innovation in green and low-carbon science and technology, 2) institutional reform in energy and other relevant fields, 3) the development of incentives and constraint mechanisms, and 4) the need to "avoid excessive side effects" of decarbonisation policies, so as to maintain energy security and economic development as the bottom line. The plan also calls for stimulating international cooperation, notably through 1) global climate governance, 2) green cooperation on business, technology, and finance, and 3) making Belt and Road Initiative green.
The Action Plan further seeks to enhance policy support by developing a unified and standardised carbon emissions measuring and counting system; improve laws, regulations and standards; optimise economic policies; and establish further market mechanisms. It should be implemented through a strengthening of planning and coordination efforts, ensuring that responsibilities are taken at all levels, and develop a strict oversight and assessment system.
The document lists a series of sectoral policy goals which are as following.
Energy demand and supply:
The Action Plan further seeks to enhance policy support by developing a unified and standardised carbon emissions measuring and counting system; improve laws, regulations and standards; optimise economic policies; and establish further market mechanisms. It should be implemented through a strengthening of planning and coordination efforts, ensuring that responsibilities are taken at all levels, and develop a strict oversight and assessment system.
The document lists a series of sectoral policy goals which are as following.
Energy demand and supply:
- Promote coal substitution as well as transformation and upgrading. The document mandates to "strictly control the scale of supplementary coal power" and of coal consumption growth.
- Develop wind, solar and hydropower according to local context.
- Develop nuclear power through a safe and orderly approach
- Rationally regulating oil and gas consumption. The plan notably promotes alternatives like advanced liquid biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, the use of liquid natural gas for peak shaving power stations and as fuel for vehicles and ships.
- Speed up the development of the new electric power system.
- Raise capacity for managing energy conservation across the board. It notably seeks to introduce an energy budget management approach, intensify energy conservation reviews regarding fixed-asset investment projects, and conduct comprehensive assessments of projects’ energy use and carbon emissions.
- Implement key energy conservation and carbon reduction projects.
- Advance better energy saving performance and higher efficiency of major energy consuming equipments.
- Strengthen energy conservation and carbon reduction in new types of infrastructure.
Industry sector:
- Promote green and low-carbon development in the industrial domain. implement the green manufacturing project, vigorously promote green design, refine the green manufacturing system, and build green factories and industrial parks.
- Push the steel industry to peak carbon dioxide emissions
- Push the non-ferrous metals industry to peak carbon dioxide emissions
- Push the building materials industry to peak carbon dioxide emissions
- Push the petrochemical industry to peak carbon dioxide emissions
- Curb the irrational expansion of energy-intensive and high-emission projects
Urban and rural development:
- Promoting green and low-carbon transformation in urban and rural development
- Accelerating building energy efficiency improvement
- Accelerating the optimization of building energy consumption structure
- Promoting a low-carbon transition in rural development and energy consumption
Transport:
- Promote low-carbon transformation of transport vehicles and equipment
- Develop green, high efficiency transport systems
- Accelerate construction of green transport infrastructure
Promotion of circular economy:
- Push industrial parks to develop in a circular manner
- Strengthen the comprehensive use of bulk solid waste
- Refine systems for resource recycling
- Promote efforts to reduce and recycle household waste
Advance of green and low-carbon technology innovation:
- Improve innovation mechanisms and systems. The document states that intellectual property rights protection for green and low-carbon technologies and products will be strengthened, and the testing, evaluation, and certification systems for them will be improved.
- Enhance innovation capability and personnel training
- Boost application-oriented basic research
- Accelerate the R&D and wider application of advanced practical technologies.
Consolidation and enhancement of carbon sink capacities:
- The plan mandates to adopt a system thinking, holistic approach to the conservation of mountain, river, forest, farmland, lake, grassland, and desert ecosystems.
- Boslster the carbon sequestration capacity of ecosystems, including through large-scale protection and restoration of major ecosystems, afforestation, and increase of grassland resources.
- Strengthen the foundation for ecological system carbon sinks, notably by improving mechanisms for ecological compensation, measure and value carbon sinks, and establish rules for carbon sink projects in the national carbon market.
- Promote carbon emissions reduction and carbon sequestration in agriculture and rural areas
Societal aspects:
- Strengthen publicity and education for ecological civilization
- Advocate green and low-carbon living patterns
- Encourage enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities
- Increase training for cadres
Subnational (regional) action:
- Setting sound, systematic targets
- Promote green and low-carbon development according to local conditions
- Formulate local peaking carbon dioxide emissions plans through coordination between central and local authorities
- Carry out pilot projects
Documents
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By 2025, the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption will reach around 20%, while energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will drop by 13.5% and 18%, respectively, compared with 2020 levels
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By 2030, the share of non-fossil energy consumption will reach around 25%, and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will have dropped by more than 65% compared with the 2005 level, successfully achieving carbon dioxide peaking before 2030.
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Ensure in principle that no less than 50% of electricity transmitted via newly constructed lines is generated from renewable resources
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By 2030, total installed generation capacity of wind and solar power will reach above 1200 gigawatts.
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Approximately 40 gigawatts of additional hydro power capacity will be installed during both the 14th and 15th Five-Year Plan periods, respectively, while a renewable energy system based largely on hydro power will be generally established in southwestern China.
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By 2025, installed capacity of new types of energy storage will reach 30 gigawatts or more. By 2030, installed pumped-storage hydro power capacity will reach approximately 120 gigawatts, and provincial-level electrical grids will be equipped with peak load response capacity of 5% or more.
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By 2025, domestic capacity for primary refining of crude oil will be kept below 1 billion metric tons, and the utilisation rate of production capacity for main products will rise to 80% or more.
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By 2025, the total amount of nine major reusable resources including steel scrap, cooper, aluminum, lead, zinc, waste paper, plastic, rubber, and glass recycled will top 450 million metric tons, reaching 510 million by 2030.
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By 2025, all newly constructed buildings in urban areas will meet green building standards.
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By 2025, renewable resources will account for 8% of the alternative to conventional energy used in buildings, and we will strive to reach 50% photovoltaic coverage on the roofs of newly constructed public buildings and factories.
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By 2030, all ground vehicles and equipment at civil airports will strive to be powered by electricity.
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By 2030, all key industrial parks at the provincial level or above will be upgraded to support circular operations.
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By 2025, the amount of bulk solid waste recycled annually will reach around 4 billion metric tons, rising to about 4.5 billion by 2030.
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By 2025, a basic sorting system for urban household waste will be established, with the reclamation rate up to about 60%. By 2030, the sorting system for urban household waste will cover all cities, and the reclamation rate will rise to 65%.
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Expand forest coverage around 25% of China’s total land area and increase forest stock volume to 19 billion cubic meters by 2030.
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Target peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030
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Target 65% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 2030
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Target 25% share of non-fossil energy consumption by 2030
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Target 1200 gigawatts total installed generation capacity of wind and solar power by 2030
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Target installed capacity of energy storage to reach 30 gigawatts by 2025
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Target installed pumped-storage hydro power capacity to reach approximately 120 gigawatts by 2030
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Target domestic capacity for primary refining of crude oil will be kept below 1 billion metric tons by 2025
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Target all newly constructed buildings in urban areas to meet green building standards by 2025
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Target renewable resources to account for 8% of the alternative to conventional energy used in buildings by 2025 and 50% photovoltaic coverage on the roofs of newly constructed public buildings and factories
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Target 40% of incremental vehicles to be fueled by clean energy in 2030; carbon emiission intesity of commercial vehicles also targeted to be cut by 9.5% compared with 2020
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Target to reach peak in petroleum consumption for land transportation by 2030
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Target at least 70% of travel to be conducted through environmentally friendly means in cities with populations of one million or more by 2030
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By 2030, target all ground vehicles used in civil airports to be powered by electricity
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Target 4 billion metric tons of bulk solid waste recycled annually by 2025, then 4.5 billion by 2030
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Target the total amount of major reusable resources to reach 450 million metric tons by 2025, then 510 million by 2030
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Target reclamation rate of 60% in 2025, then 65% in 2030
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Target forest stock volume of 19 billion cubic meters by 2030
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Target 80% of energy consumption to be from non-fossil energy sources in 2060
from the Grantham Research Institute
from the Grantham Research Institute
