China's policies and actions to deal with climate change

As the largest developing country, with a population of over 1.4 billion, China faces major challenges across a range of important areas including economic development, improving the people’s lives, pollution control, and eco-environmental protection. In order to meet its targets in response to climate change, China has risen to these challenges and formulated and implemented a variety of strategies, regulations, policies, standards, and actions.

It will not be easy for China to achieve its new NDC targets; it will take approximately 30 years of painstaking effort to transit from peak carbon emissions to achieving carbon neutrality and the largest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP (“carbon intensity”) in the world. Walking the talk, China has already begun to implement positive and effective moves in its strategy to peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.

Improving overall planning and coordination in response to climate change. The response to climate change covers a wide range of areas; therefore, to improve coordination and pool strengths, China has set up a national leading group headed by Premier of the State Council and with officials from 30 ministries and commissions as members. Its remit is responding to climate change, conserving energy, and reducing emissions, and all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government (PARMs) have set up corresponding groups. In April 2018, China adjusted the functions of relevant government departments, and put the newly established Ministry of Ecology and Environment in charge of responding to climate change, thus reinforcing the coordination between responding to climate change and protecting the eco-environment. In 2021, China set up a special leading group to guide and coordinate the work related to peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. All PARMs have established leading groups for peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, so as to strengthen the coordination of their efforts.