This white paper was prepared and published to report on China's progress on responding to climate change, share its practices and experiences, and enhance the understanding of the international community on its policies regarding climate change. It defines the government's long-term conceptual vision as aiming at promoting the construction of an ecological civilisation with high-quality development.
The paper reiterates that China's 14th Five-Year Plan outlines a binding indicator of "reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 18% compared to 2020". It further states that in as of the end of 2019, China exceeded its 2020 target ahead of schedule and in 2020, China announced a new target: to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. By 2030, China's carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will decrease by more than 65% compared to 2005, and the proportion of non fossil fuels in primary energy consumption will reach about 25%. The forest stock will increase by 6 billion cubic meters compared to 2005, and the total installed capacity of wind and solar power will reach over 1.2 billion kilowatts. The proportion of non fossil fuels in primary energy consumption is increased by another five percentage points, and the target for increasing the installed capacity of non fossil fuels is increased. The forest storage volume is increased by another 1.5 billion cubic meters, with a clear goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
The paper also notes that in 2021 China announced that it would no longer build new overseas coal-fired power projects.
