What does China’s 14th ‘five year plan’ mean for climate change?
Posted on 18 March 2021 by Guest Author
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief
This week, at the annual “two sessions†political gathering in Beijing, the Chinese government approved a key policy document that will heavily influence the nation’s economic development – and climate policies – over the next decade and beyond.
Following a week-long meeting, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China yesterday formalised the “outline for the 14th five year plan and long-term targets for 2035â€.
In short, the five year plan’s outline sets a 18% reduction target for “CO2 intensity†and 13.5% reduction target for “energy intensity†from 2021 to 2025. For the first time, it also refers to China’s longer-term climate goals within a five year plan and introduces the idea of a “CO2 emissions capâ€, though it does not go so far as to set one.
These new targets have triggered widespread discussion about China’s ambition to tackle its rising emissions. Some have expressed scepticism which questions the five year plan’s “shortfall†relative to its longer-term climate pledges. Others say China has a history of overachieving its targets and this needs to be taken into account.
https://skepticalscience.com/china-14th-five-year-plan.html
