China adopted a new energy law on Friday with a view to “promote (…) carbon neutrality”state media reported, as Beijing moves forward with its bold promise to decarbonize its economy by 2060.
China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases which scientists say are causing climate warming and change.
But it is also a global leader in clean energy, building nearly twice as much wind and solar capacity as all other countries combined.
It has pledged to hold carbon dioxide emissions to a peak by the end of the decade and bring them to net zero by 2060.
State news agency Xinhua reports that officials voted for the energy law, saying it “would actively promote peaking carbon emissions and carbon neutrality”.
The announcement comes as the country’s top legislature meets in Beijing this week, with a raft of new laws and economic support on its agenda.
A few days before COP29
The law was formulated to “promote high-quality energy development, ensure national energy security, (and) foster green and low-carbon transformation and sustainable development of the economy and society”according to Xinhua.
The legislation contains sections on energy planning, development and use, the agency said without giving further details.
The move comes as countries around the world gather next week for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a crucial UN climate summit.
Can we limit warming by 2100? / Sabrina BLANCHARD, Olivia BUGAULT / AFP
Copernicus, the European Union’s climate observatory, said this week that 2024 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record, with warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. .
Under the Paris climate agreement, adopted in 2015, countries committed to keeping the planet’s average temperature no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, or even 1.5°C. .
China, like many countries in the northern hemisphere, has endured extreme weather this summer that scientists say will intensify as the planet warms.
Swathes of the country’s north sweltered under scorching heatwaves, while parts of the center and south were hit by heavy rains that triggered deadly floods in some areas.