China plans to reduce CO2 emissions in key sectors by 1% compared to 2023 levels

The government’s action plan predicted that in 2024, the Chinese economy would need 2.5% less energy for each unit of GDP growth. It proposed achieving this goal by pushing for specific changes in industries, including building materials and petrochemicals.

China missed its energy intensity target last year, and its desire to reduce emissions and energy consumption is often at odds with the need to boost economic growth and living standards.

Lauri Myllyvirta, senior research fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said it was possible that China’s CO2 emissions would peak in 2023, reflecting stalling growth in oil demand and rising wind, solar and wind energy production. China’s official goal remains to achieve maximum CO2 emissions before 2030.

The plan reiterates the non-fossil energy target of about 20% of China’s total energy consumption in 2025, up from this year’s target of about 18.9%.

The plan said China would “strictly” control coal consumption, “reasonably” control oil consumption and promote the use of biofuel and sustainable aviation fuel.

In the case of natural gas – which Beijing sees as a bridge to achieving its carbon neutrality goal by 2060 – the plan calls for accelerated use of resources such as shale gas and coalbed methane to boost domestic supply. It said the government would prioritize the use of gas to heat households in winter.

The plan assumes the construction of large-scale renewable energy complexes and the development of offshore wind energy, so that by 2025 non-fossil energy sources will account for approximately 39% of total energy production, up from 33.9% in 2020.

The plan assumed that the government would control the production of metals, including copper and aluminum, while allowing the development of the production of silicon, lithium and magnesium, elements used in semiconductors and batteries.

It said state agencies would “vigorously expand” metal recycling.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell)

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