SCIO briefing on China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2016)

China News Service:

Can we reach our objectives of energy consumption and carbon intensity reduction this year? What kinds of measures have we taken to achieve such targets? What measures will we take next to accomplish the goals of conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions set by the 13th Five-Year Plan?

Xie Zhenhua:

Let's see some data. According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, the reduction targets of energy consumption and carbon intensity are 15 and 18 percent, respectively, and non-fossil energy resources shall make up 15 percent of primary energy consumption. We have already reached the goal of forest growing stock, and will control the total volume of energy consumption, especially coal consumption. This year's reduction targets of energy consumption and carbon intensity are 3.4 and 3.9 percent respectively. During the first three quarters, energy consumption per unit of GDP has fallen by 5.2 percent, while carbon intensity has decreased by some 6 percent. That means we have already achieved the whole year's target in the first three quarters. We have been largely taking the following measures:

Firstly, optimizing industrial structure. Currently, the tertiary sector accounted for 52.8 percent of the country's GDP, up 1.6 percentage points year on year. The added value of high-tech and strategic emerging industries also remained at a growth rate, 4.6 and 4.8 percentage points respectively higher than the industrial enterprises above a certain scale. All high-tech and strategic emerging industries are low-carbon and low-emission. After structural adjustment, these industries developed rapidly, and energy consumption and carbon emissions were hence reduced.

Secondly, improving energy efficiency and optimizing energy structure. We will take more effective measures in the industrial sector as well as transport and public fields, including improving energy use efficiency, adjusting energy structure, developing renewable energy resources and arousing enthusiasm of society.

Thirdly, we will also take a series of engineering measures. The 13th Five-Year Plan vows to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, while improving some economic policies, such as pricing reform of resources, system of low-carbon price, incentive mechanism of finance and tax as well as development of green finance. These policies are expected to promote low-carbon and cyclic development while limiting projects featuring high energy consumption and high emissions.

In addition, we will move our work forward on carbon emission trading market and low-carbon pilots. Till now, carbon intensity in all pilot provinces reduced significantly, which has proven the success of pilot projects. If the pilot provinces could achieve their targets, other places can do the same. We will take more effective measures in this area to achieve the targets set by the 13th Five-Year Plan. Thank you.