China introduces guideline to encourage low-carbon behaviours among the public, in support of national carbon neutrality goal
- The All-China Environment Federation has released a guideline that introduces 40 green and low-carbon behaviours
- As the world’s biggest carbon emitter, 26 per cent of China’s energy consumption is directly used in public life
China wants to encourage more citizens to engage in green and low-carbon behaviours to support the country’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions nationwide by 2060, according to a newly-released guideline that came into effect last week.
The All-China Environment Federation (ACEF), a nationwide environmental non-profit organisation, released a guideline last Friday that gives quantitative standards for the calculation and evaluation of citizen-level carbon emission reduction.
The guideline introduced 40 green and low-carbon behaviours, which fall into seven categories from green living and green transportation, to green finance. It is also the first document to give quantitative guidelines and standards for consumer-level carbon emission reductions in China.
“The guideline has for the first time defined which behaviours can be considered as reducing emissions. Next, we will compile more detailed rules to evaluate and measure those behaviours, to help the whole society reduce pollution and carbon emissions,” Tao Lan, general manager of Green Inclusive Co., which participated in the guideline’s preparation, told state media.
Chinese president Xi Jinping announced in September 2020 that the country aimed to peak nationwide carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Amid China’s rapid urbanisation progress, carbon emissions from household consumption have become a pressing issue in China.
As the world’s biggest carbon emitter, 26 per cent of China’s energy consumption is directly used in public life, and the resulting carbon emissions accounted for more than 30 per cent of China’s total emissions in 2020, according to data from the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner.
The proportion of carbon emissions from the consumer side, such as residential use and an element related to industrial processes, has reached 53 per cent of the country’s total emissions, according to research by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.