Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 39 2021

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

China to reach peak emissions

earlier to guarantee net-zero goals

CHINA CHINA, the world’s largest energy consumer Power balance
and carbon emitter, needs to reduce its current China is already a clean energy powerhouse
emissions pledges by 20% by 2030 if it is to come in areas like solar & EVs, although coal accounts
good on its commitments to achieve carbon neu- for over 60% of electricity generation, and
trality by 2060. China continues to build new coal power plants
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has domestically.
warned that China needs to harness its poten- China has added more solar power capacity
tial to speed up the energy transition by bring- than any other country year after year. It is the
ing forward peak emissions from 2030 to 2025. second largest oil consumer in the world, but
It could do this by raising renewables output by it also home to 70% of global manufacturing
seven times, making energy efficiency improve- capacity for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the
ments and reducing coal use. report noted.
The IEA’s latest country report on China con- The IEA report found that emissions reduc-
cluded that the country has the means to achieve tions up to 2030 come mainly from more energy
an even faster transition that would put its CO2 efficiency & renewables, and less coal. By 2060,
emissions into clear decline after 2025. renewables will generate seven times as much
power as today.
Even faster transition For example, China needs to find solutions
As the country’s energy sector is the source of to tackle emissions from its huge existing fleet of
almost 90% of its emissions, China needs bring fossil fuel-based power plants, steel mills, cement
forward the date of peak emissions in order to kilns and other industrial facilities.
secure a 20% drop in emissions by 2030, com- The report’s key finding is how to improve
pared to today. This would be a key milestone for China’s current emissions plans, and how to
the world to meet its 1.5 degree climate targets achieve its 20% reduction in 2030 emissions.
in 2030. At present, China’s plans for 2020 and 2060,
The report identified reducing CO2 emission which the IEA calls the Announced Pledges Sce-
from coal use as the key way to cut emissions by nario. call for electricity generation from renew-
20%. ables, mainly wind and solar PV, to increase
IEA executive director Fatih Birol was con- seven-fold between 2020 and 2060, accounting
fident that China could achieve these increased for almost 80% of China’s power mix by then.
targets. Industrial CO2 emissions are to decline by
“The really uplifting news is that our new nearly 95% by 2060, with the role of emerging
roadmap shows China has the means and capa- innovative technologies, such as hydrogen and
bilities to accomplish an even faster clean energy carbon capture, growing strongly after 2030.
transition that would result in greater social and However, the IEA’s Roadmap also explores
economic benefits for the Chinese people and the opportunities for China to pursue – and
also increase the world’s chances of limiting the benefit from – an even faster clean energy tran-
rise in global temperatures to 1.5 °C,” he said. sition, called the Accelerated Transition Scenario
“This accelerated transition would put Chi- (ATS).
na’s CO2 emissions into marked decline after By concentrating on raising renewables out-
2025, opening up the possibility of China reach- put by seven times, improving energy efficiency
ing carbon neutrality well before 2060. This cutting coal use before 2030, the ATS would see
would be both good for China and good for the peak emission happen before 2030, when emis-
world.” sions would be falling to 2mn tonnes per year
(tpy), 20% lower than today. The power sector

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 29•September•2022