China's ambitions in achieving low-carbon development as laid out by the third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was held in Beijing last month, have won applause from international climate and clean energy experts.
From Chinadaily
Third plenum confirms country's new focus on carbon reduction, expert says
China's ambitions in achieving low-carbon development as laid out by the third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was held in Beijing last month, have won applause from international climate and clean energy experts.
Belinda Schaepe, China policy analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA, based in Helsinki, Finland, said the third plenum has sent a powerful message on the climate and energy front, underscoring China's commitment to green and low-carbon development.
China will make concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development, and actively respond to climate change, said the communique of the third plenum.
"This elevates China's commitment to reducing emissions and tackling climate change to a new level and could pave the way for ambitious targets in China's upcoming Nationally Determined Contribution, to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)," she said, referring to China's efforts to reduce national emissions as a key part of the Paris climate accord.
Transformative policies
"If implemented well, these policies could be transformative for high-emission sectors such as the steel sector to accelerate heavy industry decarbonization," she said, adding the steel sector may have reached a turning point with no new permits for coal-based steel plants in the first half of 2024, indicating progress in the sector's decarbonization.