New Era for Carbon Neutrality

Since China committed in September 2020 to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, green investment has gained momentum. The central government work report this year vowed that the country will adopt measures to reduce carbon emissions including establishing markets for trading energy use rights and carbon emissions rights, and encouraged financial support for green and low-carbon development. Official statistics showed that by late 2020 China's carbon intensity – carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP – had reduced by 48.4 percent from 2005. According to Zero-carbon Investing: Opportunities from China's Carbon Neutrality Goal, a report released by the Investment Association of China, carbon neutrality will generate investment totaling 70 trillion yuan (US$11T) over 40 years, boosting areas including renewable resources, energy efficiency, zero-carbon electric generation, hydrogen energy and digitization. A complete low-carbon industrial chain is expected to be built to facilitate high-quality development and a more environmentally friendly society.