China’s climate goals: growing energy consumption, slow progress on decarbonisation pose challenges, says NEA director

Annual growth in energy consumption from 2021 to 2023 was 1.8 times that of the previous five years, according to the National Energy Administration
Energy conservation and carbon reduction on the consumer side need to be urgently strengthened, says head of NEA

Business of climate change

Martin Choi

Published: 2:08pm, 19 Feb 2024

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China’s growing energy consumption, faltering progress on decarbonisation, and limitations on new energy capacity installation pose major challenges for the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter’s climate goals, according to the head of the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The country’s energy transition faces difficulties including greater-than-expected growth in energy demand which has increased the need for transformation, according to Zhang Jianhua, director of the NEA in a post on the state agency’s official WeChat account on Sunday.

The average annual growth in energy consumption from 2021 to 2023 was 1.8 times that of the previous five years, an increase which was equivalent to the energy consumption of the United Kingdom every year, according to the NEA, which cited Zhang’s comments in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Daily, a state-run newspaper.

“It is expected that rigid growth will be maintained in the future, making it more difficult to coordinate energy security and achieve a low-carbon transition,” said Zhang.

Energy conservation and carbon reduction on the consumer side need to be urgently strengthened, he added.

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China’s energy consumption intensity is 1.5 times the world average, with six major industries, including petroleum, chemicals, electric and heat power, accounting for 75 per cent of the nation’s energy consumption, according to the NEA.

The progress in reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP during the 14th five -year plan from 2021 to 2025 is lagging behind expectations, said Zhang.

“The subsequent potential for energy substitution has gradually narrowed, and it has become more difficult to substitute clean energy for end-use,” he said.

The construction of major projects also faces many constraints in terms of resources.

“There is insufficient contiguous land and sea space for concentrated new energy development, making it difficult to coordinate the construction of hydropower, nuclear power, transmission channels and other projects with ecologically sensitive areas,” said Zhang.

“The price mechanism for new energy storage and solar thermal power generation is not yet adequate, and joint efforts on energy transition policies need to be strengthened.”

China, the world’s largest consumer of coal, aims to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060.

In order to accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, Zhang recommended that 70 per cent of new energy consumption be supplied by non-fossil sources before 2030.

Non-fossil energy accounted for more than 40 per cent of total new energy production in 2023.

Zhang also recommended strengthening innovation in the fields of green and low-carbon technology to consolidate the development of China’s new energy industry.