The world’s biggest polluter began 2011 with a series of announcements on climate change, signaling its commitment to a carbon intensity reduction target of 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020.
Su Wei, Director-General of the climate change department at China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), stated that the government will impose binding emissions reduction targets on its regions. He also announced the creation of a carbon and energy policy development working group that will develop China’s specific targets and policies. The group is expected to consider a range of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation mechanisms including the development of a domestic carbon trading platform.
Emission reduction targets and a range of climate policies will be integrated into the country’s 12th and 13th Five Year Plans, China’s principal mechanism for directing policy through all levels of government. The country’s 12th Five Year Plan is set to be adopted in March 2011 to govern the period of 2011-2015 and is expected to introduce pilot carbon markets for a subset of high emitting industrial sectors such as steel, cement, and power generation.
The nation has also advanced a number of other complementary measures. It continues to invest heavily in energy efficient transportation projects and clean technology. Perhaps most notably, China emerged as the new world leader in installed wind power capacity, adding 62% in new capacity last year to reach a total of 41.8 GW, though the ability of the grid to accommodate the new capacity remains an issue. Other short term environmental actions in 2011 include the rejection or suspension of construction projects that fail to meet environmental standards, investments in environmental technologies across a range of sectors, and banning logging in the country’s largest forest reserve until 2020. The ban is part of an effort to reduce emissions by increasing the nation’s forests by 99 million acres.
