context: Xi’s words reaffirm current policy commitments set out in recent 5-year plans with no major pivots. China’s decarbonisation policy for the next few years is now, mostly, set in stone: the focus will move to implementation.
Xi Jinping addressed China’s carbon neutrality campaign in his speech at the opening of the 20th Party Congress on 16 October.
He called for
- actively and stably pursuing carbon peaking and neutrality
- (CP note: wording here is unsurprising and represents a continuation of previous policy)
- setting up new systems before destroying old ones
- (CP note: refers to ensuring that clean energy systems are reliable and affordable before coal, oil and gas are phased out)
- implement carbon-peaking actions in a step-by-step manner
- refining ‘dual control’ policies by gradually shifting to carbon emissions and carbon intensity measures to control fossil fuel consumption
- (CP note: strong support for this policy evolution is not surprising, it will reshape centre-local control over emissions)
- advancing the energy revolution
- strengthening clean and efficient use of coal
- (CP note: this was always bound to be included: ‘clean and efficient use of coal’ has been the industry’s catchcry since the October 2021 power crunch)
- increasing oil and gas exploration, development and storage
- accelerating the planning and building of a new energy system
- (CP note: this refers to the ‘unified national power market system’ promised by top-level planners in Jan 2022; the call here to ‘accelerate’ progress is aimed at getting local officials, grid firms and other stakeholders to stop sitting on their hands and get to work)
- coordinating hydropower with ecological protection
- (CP note: this consideration rarely makes it into top-level speeches, so its inclusion may signal growing concern and care for China’s riverine ecosystems, especially the Yangtze River)
- actively and safely developing nuclear power in an orderly manner
- strengthening energy system integration of production, supply, storage and sales
- ensuring energy security
- refining carbon emissions calculation and accounting systems
- (CP note: recognising that faulty data threatens China’s climate credibility and trust in the carbon market, emissions accounting has become a major focus for regulators since early 2022 when multiple instances of data forgery, tampering and inaccuracy arose)
- enhancing the carbon market
- improving ecosystem carbon sink capacity
- actively participating in global climate governance