China’s carbon neutral goal: mainland companies seen trailing global peers by 2050, Fidelity survey shows

Name: Hong Kong could slash carbon emissions 70% with more ambitious goals, says former observatory head
Uploaded: 2021-03-03T04:31:41.000Z
Duration: 4 min 56 s
Description: Hong Kong could slash carbon emissions 70% with more ambitious goals, says former observatory head

Only 54 per cent of mainland firms are seen meeting the carbon neutral target versus 64 per cent average globally, survey shows

Global telecommunications firms are tipped to achieve the best results relative to the ambitions set in the Paris agreement

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A coal-fired power plant is pictured near a construction site in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Eric Ng

Published: 12:31pm, 3 Mar 2021Updated: 2:41pm, 3 Mar 2021

Chinese companies must step up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gases to help the nation attain its long-term goals, with a market survey suggesting they will trail global peers on carbon-neutral push by mid-century.

Only 54 per cent of mainland firms are seen achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Fidelity International, compared with 75 per cent among European companies, and 65 per cent for peers in Asia excluding China and Japan. The average in North America and globally is seen at about 64 per cent, its survey shows.

Fidelity, with US$542 billion of assets globally, disclosed the findings based on a survey of 144 analysts at the UK fund manager who regularly interact with companies globally.

“We need much closer to 100 per cent of companies achieving [their national] global carbon neutral objectives,” said Jenn-Hui Tan, global head of stewardship and sustainable investing at Fidelity. “We as investors have the responsibility to nudge companies in that direction and we expect their targets to become more ambitious.”

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Hong Kong could slash carbon emissions 70% with more ambitious goals, says former observatory head

China, the largest carbon dioxide emitter with about 30 per cent of world output, aims to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2060 in a plan unveiled last September. That means any residual emissions must be offset by removing the same amount from the atmosphere in that year.

China’s 2060 goal, along with a target for carbon emissions to peak before 2030, is critical to the global climate-change agenda. The Paris Agreement aims to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.