China’s power sector could hit peak carbon emissions 5 years ahead of national goal, study finds

Researchers say the sector will have to do this earlier than the 2030 target and drive the transition towards carbon neutrality

They also call for installed capacity of coal-fired power plants to be strictly controlled up to 2025 and gradually phased out after 2026

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If renewable sources like wind power are developed, alongside energy storage and demand-side response, the sector could achieve peak emissions by 2025, researchers say. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:00pm, 18 Dec 2021

China’s power sector could reach peak carbon emissions as early as 2025 – five years ahead of the national target, according to a new study by Chinese researchers.

Beijing has pledged to hit peak emissions before 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2060. To achieve carbon neutrality, the power sector will have to reach peak emissions earlier and drive the transition, according to the report by researchers from the North China Electricity Power University and Peking University’s Institute of Energy.

China is the world’s largest consumer of energy and biggest greenhouse gas emitter, and the power sector produces about 40 per cent of its carbon dioxide emissions.

The researchers looked at three different scenarios based on electricity demand, power sources and supporting technologies, finding that the sector could bring carbon emissions to a peak before the 2030 target in each of those scenarios.

If non-fossil fuels are developed, as well as energy storage and demand-side response, China’s power sector could reach peak carbon emissions as early as 2025, according to the report.

China is the world’s biggest energy consumer and its largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Photo: AP

“The power sector will be a hybrid system led by the development of wind and solar and combined with a number of controllable sources … including hydro, nuclear, gas-fired power, pumped hydro and biomass,” Yuan Jiahai, lead author of the report and a professor at the North China Electric Power University, said in a webinar on the findings on Thursday.

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