Nonferrous metals sector to follow green, low-carbon path of development

China has released a plan to advance the low-carbon development of its nonferrous metals industry, a key producer of industrial carbon emissions, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said.

Significant improvements will be made to the sector’s industrial and energy consumption structure before 2025, according to the plan jointly unveiled by the MIIT, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), notable progress will be made in the research and development and application of low-carbonemissions technologies, with recycled metals accounting for over 24 percent of the total supply of nonferrous metals in the country.

An industrial system featuring green, low-carbon and circular development will be established in the sector during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), the document said.

Efforts will go into adjusting the industrial structure of the sector, advancing energysaving and low-carbon technologies, promoting the use of clean energy alternatives, and building a green manufacturing system, according to the issued plan.

China has announced that it will peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

In the low-carbon energy transformation sector, an outline from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology in August vowed to improve the self-innovation of energy techniques to accelerate the replacement of fossil energy by 2030.

Techniques should be deployed by 2030 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a number of energy-intensive, high-emitting industries including steel, concrete, chemical engineering and nonferrous metals.