Recently, the State Council issued the Carbon Peaking Action Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan Period (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). Closely aligned with energy transition and industrial upgrading requirements during the 15th Five-Year Plan, and targeting priority work across various sectors, the document systematically arranges five key tasks including accelerating the adjustment and optimization of the energy mix and advancing the green and low-carbon transformation of industries. It serves as a comprehensive implementation roadmap for the all-round green transition of economic and social development over the next five years.
The 15th Five-Year Plan period marks a critical and decisive stage for delivering the carbon peaking target. The Action Plan sets out overarching goals: by 2030, China’s carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will drop by 17% compared with 2025; the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption will reach 25%. These targets ensure carbon peaking will be achieved as scheduled, laying a solid foundation for fulfilling the nationally determined contributions by 2035 and advancing carbon neutrality.
In recent years, China has steadily pushed forward carbon peaking and carbon neutrality efforts and secured historic achievements in green and low-carbon transformation. It has built the world’s largest renewable energy system, fostered the most complete new energy industrial chain globally, realized the fastest penetration rate of new energy vehicles worldwide, and become one of the countries recording the steepest declines in energy and carbon emission intensity.
Meanwhile, relevant officials from the National Development and Reform Commission noted that China still faces an arduous task of shifting growth drivers, tight environmental constraints remain unchanged, and numerous difficulties and challenges persist in advancing the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development.
Against this backdrop, the Action Plan zeroes in on core priorities and clarifies low-carbon transformation requirements for energy, manufacturing and other key sectors.
Specifically, “accelerating the adjustment and optimization of the energy mix” is listed as the top priority. The Action Plan proposes vigorous development of non-fossil energy sources, faster expansion of power system capacity to integrate new energy generation, deepened clean substitution for coal consumption, and continuous improvement of the oil and gas consumption structure.
Wang Peng, Executive Dean of the National Energy Development Strategy Institute at North China Electric Power University, identified three prominent highlights in the policy arrangements for energy transition. First, new energy consumption models such as direct green power supply are repeatedly highlighted as core policy levers to drive low-carbon energy shift. Second, virtual power plants are elevated to a prominent position, with quantified targets specified in the document that chart a clear path to fully tap demand-side regulation potential. Third, plans are laid out to build integrated wind-solar-hydrogen-ammonia-methanol bases, offering diversified implementation pathways to boost efficient consumption of new energy and large-scale development of non-fossil energy.
Green and low-carbon industrial transformation stands as the core vehicle to cultivate more green growth drivers. The Action Plan calls for advancing the green and low-carbon restructuring of industries, carrying out energy-saving and carbon-revamping projects for traditional industries, speeding up the construction of zero-carbon parks and zero-carbon factories, promoting the green low-carbon transition of computing infrastructure, and leveraging the role of circular economy in carbon reduction.
Sun Chuanwang, Professor at the China Center for Energy Economics Research of Xiamen University, commented that the Action Plan sends a clear signal of “driving green development via green solutions”. It expands industrial low-carbon transformation from stock upgrades in traditional high-energy and high-emission sectors including manufacturing, construction and transportation to emerging growth areas such as zero-carbon industrial parks, green computing power, carbon management services and circular economy, consistently spawning new green economic growth engines.
Among these areas, coordinated computing-power-power supply and zero-carbon parks represent key high-potential emerging tracks set to benefit from policy support.
“The Action Plan explicitly encourages industrial parks with existing power loads to access direct green power supply and supports qualified manufacturers to connect directly to green power grids, expanding and deepening previous policies on direct green power access,” said Wang Peng. In response to rapidly rising demand for computing power, the document emphasizes coordinated layout of computing facilities and renewable energy, aligning with earlier national mandates on green power ratios for newly built data centers and further reinforcing policy guidance for green computing power.
As policy dividends keep unfolding, market entities are accelerating strategic adjustments. A senior representative from Veolia China, a global leader in environmental services, told reporters that the Action Plan delivers positive policy signals. For the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Veolia will ramp up efforts in cutting-edge fields covering industrial green low-carbon transformation, emerging pollutant treatment and zero-carbon park development. It will further optimize its industrial layout in China, taking decarbonization, resource recycling and pollution elimination as core strategic directions to advance the dual carbon goals through concrete actions.
Notably, to strengthen policy implementation, the Action Plan rolls out key projects including inter-provincial power mutual aid, clean substitution of coal consumption, energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries, low-carbon and zero-carbon heating, cooling and green lighting, zero-carbon transport corridor development, and improved foundational capacity for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
On the front of supporting safeguards, the Action Plan mandates stronger technological support and talent cultivation, increased funding for carbon peaking initiatives, refined pricing policies, better coordination of market-based mechanisms, and concerted efforts from proactive government governance and efficient market allocation.
The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a pivotal phase for laying foundations and making full strides toward basically realizing modernization, as well as a critical stage to accelerate green low-carbon development.
“Going forward, as detailed supporting regulations, standards and local implementation schemes are rolled out at a faster pace and all tasks are advanced in a phased manner, solid and expected progress will be made in carbon peaking work during the 15th Five-Year Plan. China will foster more green economic growth drivers and accelerate the formation of green production and lifestyles,” Wang Peng remarked. (Outlook New Era)
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