China’s Failure to Meet Carbon Emissions Target Raises Global Concerns

Taipei, Taiwan: China has missed its target for reducing carbon emissions, sparking international concerns about its ability to achieve carbon neutrality. The country’s carbon intensity, a measure of carbon emissions relative to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), declined by 3.4% in 2024, falling short of the government’s goal of a 3.9% reduction, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This shortfall also puts China behind its goal of a 18% decrease in carbon intensity between 2020 and 2025, as outlined in its latest five-year plan.

Under China’s “dual targets,” President Xi Jinping has committed to reaching peak emissions before the end of the decade and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. However, China’s status as the world’s leading polluter, accounting for approximately 30% of global emissions, and its significant investments in renewable energy make its progress in meeting emissions targets crucial for global efforts to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

While 2024 became the first year in history to surpass the 1.5C threshold, China’s efforts to reduce emission intensity offer important insights into its decarbonization battleground, according to Muyi Yang, a senior energy analyst at Ember. Although the economy grew by 5% in 2024, the reduction in emissions relative to that growth fell short of expectations. Much of this shortfall is attributed to a surge in energy demand following the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption of energy production by record heatwaves, leading to increased reliance on coal power.

Despite the challenges, Beijing has made notable strides in renewable energy, with wind and solar power meeting 14.5% of the country’s total energy demand and hydropower accounting for another 13.4%. Over 75% of the growth in energy demand was met with renewable energy sources, equivalent to Germany’s annual energy consumption. This growth in renewable energy has been supported by government policies, including the Emissions Trading Scheme and Xi Jinping Thought, which emphasizes the development of an “ecological civilization.”

China aims to shift toward innovation-driven manufacturing, moving away from its historical role as the “factory of the world” producing lower-value products. Anika Patel, a China analyst at Carbon Brief, noted the country’s focus on the “new three” sectors—solar panels, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries, indicating a pivotal shift toward green growth.

The Communist Party will release its new carbon emissions targets for 2026 to 2030 alongside its next five-year plan, influencing the trajectory of both public and private sectors. While China is on track to reach its peak carbon emissions before 2030, the long-term phase-out of coal remains uncertain. Yao Zhe, a global policy adviser for Greenpeace East Asia, emphasized the need for structural changes in China’s energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality, expressing concern over the delay of such reforms.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/25/chinas-missed-emissions-target-poses-challenge-to-global-climate-efforts?traffic_source=rss