As reported in Reuters, China’s National Centre for Climate Change Strategy (NCSC) has warned that China may not be able to meet carbon emissions targets for 2030 without absolute limits on carbon emissions within the next five years. Without these changes, the NCSC predicts CO2 emissions to rise by 3.3 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2030. However, these emissions could be capped by 2025 and kept stable until 2030. Emissions could even be lowered by 1.1 tonnes per capita through stricter regulations.

According to the NCSC, China must make efforts to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP, and implement tougher fuel and heat waste standards. The main contributor to emissions however, is China’s reliance on coal-power. Coal makes up the largest portion of China’s fuel mix, though recent studies indicate that China could see a boom in the solar energy sector, reported on here.

So far, China has pledged to bring its emissions to a peak by roughly 2030. The ability of China’s renewable industry to replace the reliance on coal and other greenhouse gas emitters will be instrumental in addressing the NCSC’s concerns, and live up to the country’s pledge.

Share Story: