Careful planning to reduce risks for China on road to carbon net zero
- Top economic planning official says the country’s green transformation must avoid ‘excessive’ response to be safe and secure
- He Lifeng’s comments follow the release of China’s guiding document towards peak emissions and carbon neutrality
China needs to reduce carbon emissions in a safe and secure way to avoid economic, financial and social risks during the green and low-carbon transformation, according to the country’s leading economic planning official.
“[We should] deal with the relationship between carbon emissions and the security of energy, industrial chains, supply chains, food, as well as people’s daily lives,” He Lifeng wrote in a commentary published by party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Monday.
“[We need to] effectively respond to any economic, financial and social risks that may arise during we press ahead with our green and low-carbon transformation to avoid any excessive response and ensure carbon emissions are reduced in a safe and secure way,” said He, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planning body.
His commentary came hard on the heels of Sunday’s release of China’s guiding document on its path towards peak emissions and carbon neutrality. Meanwhile a dozen Chinese provinces have been in the grip of a power crunch as world leaders from about 200 countries prepare to meet in Glasgow for the latest round of climate talks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged last September that China’s carbon emissions would peak before 2030, with carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2060.
In addition to the overarching document, authorities are also developing a number of supplementary action plans towards peak emissions for key industries including energy, steel, petrochemicals, transport and construction.