China’s State Council Releases the 15th Five-Year Carbon Peaking Action Plan

On July 5, 2026, China’s State Council released the 15th Five-Year Carbon Peaking Action Plan. This plan serves as a crucial strategic roadmap for the Chinese government to ensure the realization of its carbon peaking goals during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period (2026–2030). The plan sets primary targets for 2030, including reducing CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 17% compared to 2025 levels and increasing the share of non-fossil energy consumption to 25%. Formulated to guarantee target achievement through institutional improvements and carbon market expansion, the plan encompasses expanding the development of clean energy sources such as wind and solar, enhancing power system regulation capabilities, accelerating the replacement of coal with clean energy, promoting energy-saving retrofits in key energy-consuming industries like steel and electrolytic aluminum, and decarbonizing the rapidly growing computing infrastructure, building, and transportation sectors.

Overall Target

By 2030, reduce CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 17% relative to 2025 levels and achieve a 25% share of non-fossil energy consumption.

Optimization of the Energy Structure

• Development of Non-Fossil Energy: Advance the simultaneous development of wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear power while constructing integrated bases for bioenergy and renewable-energy-derived hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.
• Expansion of Renewable Energy Consumption: Accelerate the enhancement of renewable energy integration capabilities within the power grid to drive target achievement by 2030 through grid reinforcement, inter-provincial power trading, and the direct supply of green electricity.
• Replacement of Coal and Petroleum: Coordinate coal reduction and low-carbon utilization with the optimization of oil and gas consumption structures to accelerate the substitution of fossil fuels with clean energy.

Low-Carbon Transformation of Key Industries and Sectors

• Energy-Saving Retrofits in Key Energy-Consuming Industries: Reduce CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by at least 17% and energy consumption by at least 10% for industrial enterprises above designated size (industrial enterprises with annual main business revenues of RMB 20 million or more), achieving cumulative energy savings equivalent to over 150 million metric tons of standard coal.
• Zero-Carbon Transformation of Key Sectors and Factories: Promote the upgrading and replacement of major energy-consuming equipment in key sectors such as steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, glass, and chemicals. Build approximately 100 national-level zero-carbon industrial parks and around 500 zero-carbon factories.
• Decarbonization of Infrastructure and Low-Carbon Transition in Major Sectors:
  —Computing Infrastructure Sector: Promote optimal integration with renewable electricity and the direct supply of green electricity, ensuring that newly constructed infrastructure primarily utilizes non-fossil electricity.
  —Building Sector: Implement low-carbon standards for new buildings, promote Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), and expand district heating and cooling powered by renewable energy.
  —Transportation Sector: Expand the adoption of new energy public vehicles and heavy trucks, build charging/battery-swapping and clean fuel (renewable-derived hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, etc.) refueling infrastructure, and construct zero-carbon highways. By 2030, raise the penetration rate of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) to 30% and the proportion of green commercial transport (highway and waterway) to 25%.

Enhancement of Circular Economy, Public Energy Conservation, and Ecological Carbon Sinks

• Circular Economy: Promote resource-circulating production models, build efficient recycling networks, and foster high-level collaborative waste utilization. Strengthen standardized recycling and high-value utilization for waste electrical equipment, batteries, wind power equipment, solar equipment, and automobiles, while accelerating the promotion of recycled materials and the remanufacturing industry.
• Public Institution Energy Conservation: Reduce energy consumption per unit of floor area by 5% and carbon emissions by 8.5% across public institutions during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period (2026–2030).
• Ecological Carbon Sinks: Advance national greening campaigns to reach a national forest stock volume of 22.4 billion cubic meters by 2030, while maintaining and enhancing the carbon sink capacity of ecosystems such as grasslands, wetlands, farmland, and oceans.

Advancement of Decarbonization and Activation of Social Action

• Improvement of Legal Systems and Carbon Statistics: Advance the revision of regulations such as the Energy Conservation Law, establish carbon footprint management systems, and build a national comprehensive carbon emission data management system alongside the national greenhouse gas emission factor database.
• Financial Support and Market-Based Mechanisms: Establish a national low-carbon transition fund to actively promote investment in carbon neutrality fields. Sequentially expand the industry coverage of the national carbon emission trading market and strengthen coordination and synergy among market mechanisms, including carbon markets, Green Electricity Certificates (GECs), and green electricity trading.

The original text of Carbon Peaking Action Plan mentioned above can be viewed at the following URL (Simplified Chinese only): https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202607/content_7074826.htm