China in Strides towards Carbon Targets

Dec 03-2022   

China’s industry upgrade and transition has contributed enormously to reduction in carbon emissions, and the country is on way to hit its ‘peak carbon’ targets by 2030 as long as it continues its efforts to lower emissions and improve energy efficiency, said Prof. Yao Yang, Dean of the NSD, in the First Greater Bay Area Green and Sustainable Finance Summit held in Shenzhen on November 16. He is also Chairperson of China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building an ecosystem of sustainable finance in China.

Over the last decade, China has been adjusting its economic development model from an extensive-growth one to innovation-driven one, paving the way for sustainable development. The most impactful transition concerns the declining importance of industry and the manufacturing sector in terms of their share of national GDP and employment. Many heavy industries have gone light by scaling down or shutting down polluted production. Meanwhile, the rise of new energy and electric vehicles has boosted emission reduction, said Prof. Yao.

He estimated that the Chinese economy will grow by 4.5-5% up until 2030, which sets the baseline for reaching the ‘peak carbon’ targets. A multitude of positive factors, such as increase in energy efficiency (3% annually over the last 20 years and expected to maintain the momentum), change in energy structure (especially a decrease in coal use), and improvement in carbon capture technologies, will enable China to reach its goals and fulfill its promise to the world, said Prof. Yao.