China’s 15th Five-Year Plan charts the path for China’s economic and social development for 2026 to 2030. The plan was released and adopted by the National People’s Congress in March 2026. While the previous 14th Five-Year Plan reiterated the previously announced targets of achieving emissions peaking by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the 15th Five-Year Plan has more references to emissions peaking than to carbon neutrality, and does not mention any target years.
Chapter III Main Objectives
The main objectives of the 15th Five-Year Plan are listed in Chapter III. The climate-related objectives are to achieve the goal of carbon peaking as scheduled, to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 17% by 2030, and to build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient new energy system.
Chapter VIII Accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and build a beautiful China
The main provisions concerning climate are in Chapter 13, Article 47.
The chapeau paragraph in Chapter VIII calls for the establishment and practise of the concept of ecological civilisation. To achieve carbon peaking and neutrality, China will promote carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth, improve the quality of the ecological environment, build a strong ecological safety barrier, and enhance the momentum of green development.
Article 47 - Actively and steadily promote and achieve carbon peaking
Section 1: Fully implement the double control of total carbon emissions and emissions intensity
Article 47.1 states that to control total carbon emissions and emissions intensity, China will:
- Establish a comprehensive evaluation and assessment system for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality;
- Establish an industry carbon emission control mechanism, clarifying the requirements for carbon emission management in key industries and promoting production capacity management and carbon emission control;
- Strengthen the energy-saving review and carbon emission evaluation of fixed asset investment projects, and implement the replacement of carbon emissions equivalent or reduced in new and reconstruction and expansion of high-energy-consuming and high-emission industrial projects;
- Formulate product carbon footprint accounting rules and standards, issue carbon emission limit standards for key products, and establish a product carbon identification certification system;
- Improve the statistical accounting system of carbon emissions and the dynamic monitoring and early warning mechanism, and normalise the preparation of the national greenhouse gas list; and
- Expand the coverage of the national carbon emission rights trading market and accelerate the construction of a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market.
Section 2: Promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas
Article 47.2 states that China will:
- Promote coal and oil consumption to peak;
- Reduce the energy consumption per unit of GDP by about 10%;
- Accelerate the innovative application of green low-carbon technology and equipment, and build zero-carbon factories and parks.
- Strengthen the energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of existing buildings and municipal facilities, and refrigeration and lighting;
- Utilise residual heat resources and non-fossil energy heating, and promote the metering transformation of heating;
- Promote the low-carbon replacement of different modes of transportation and freight; and
- Improve the energy efficiency of computing facilities.
Section 3: Improve the ability to cope with global climate change
Article 47.3 states that China will:
- Strengthen the monitoring and control of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases;
- Increase carbon sinks in ecosystems, and improve the monitoring and accounting system of carbon sinks;
- Improve the work system of adapting to climate change, strengthen the assessment of the impact of regional risks of climate change on key vulnerable areas, and improve the ability to cope with climate change, especially extreme weather; and
- Actively participate in and lead global climate governance, adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, fully implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, and deepen South-South cooperation on climate change.
Targets
The targets related to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, as indicated in Table 20 in Article 47, are:
- Increase the transformation of energy saving in key industries such as thermal power, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, chemical and building industries, achieve energy savings for more than 150 million tons of standard coal, and reduce the energy consumption of public institutions by 5%.
- Build demonstration projects and promote the replacement of coal consumption in food, textile, paper-making and other industries to reach 30 million tons/year.
- Build about 100 national zero-carbon parks to manufacture green products with green energy, with zero-carbon transportation corridors.
- Implement non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas control projects such as for methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons in coal mining, agriculture, waste, chemical and other sectors, reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 30 million tons.
- Build a comprehensive national carbon emissions data management system, a national greenhouse emissions factor database and a national carbon measurement laboratory.
- Support the innovation of carbon dioxide capture and bio-dissipation, and support the construction of carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration demonstration projects.
Other relevant provisions in Chapter 13 are as follows:
Article 48 - Continuous improvement of environmental quality
Article 48 outlines actions relating to improving environmental quality, including reducing air pollution, improving waste management and environmental governance. One target is to complete the ultra-low emissions transformation of cement production. In Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and the surrounding areas, industrial coal-fired boilers with 65 steam tons/hour and below will be gradually eliminated.
Article 49 - Improving the stability and sustainability of Ecosystem Diversity
Article 49 outlines actions relating to increasing ecological protection and restoration, to improve the nature reserve system and the protection mechanism, including improving the compensation system for ecological and environmental damage.
Article 50 - Accelerate the formation of green production and a green lifestyle
Article 50 outlines actions to accelerate green production, including strengthening the economic use of water, mineral resources and other raw materials, improving the waste recycling system, promoting a circular economy, implementing environmental protection tax, implementing tax incentives for green products, and guiding the public to reduce waste. China intends to enrich green financial products and services, promote the innovation of carbon financial products and derivatives, and encourage the proportion of investment in the green low-carbon field. It will improve the green certificate trading mechanism and improve green low-carbon standards, with reference to international rules and standards.
More broadly, other relevant provisions in this Plan are as follows:
Article 5 - Cultivating and Expanding Emerging Industries and Future Industries
Article 5.1 is about the development and expansion of emerging industries, including new energy vehicles. Article 5.2 states China’s aim to promote hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, as new economic growth points.
Article 7 - Building a Modern Infrastructure System
Article 7.2 states that China will build a powerful energy country and promote the safe, reliable and orderly replacement of fossil energy with non-fossil energy. This includes coastal nuclear, offshore wind, photothermal, geothermal and hydro energy.
Article 12 - Strengthening the Efficient Supply of Algorithmic Data
Article 12.1 states that China will promote the coordinated layout of green power and computing power, for the large-scale, intensive, green and inclusive development of computing resources.
Article 13 - Promoting the Empowerment of Digital Intelligence Technology in an All-round Way
Table 10 in Article 13 states that China will promote the application of artificial intelligence in the innovation of power system regulation, energy exploration and development, new energy power prediction and other scenarios.
Article 15 - Vigorously Boost Consumption
Article 15 states that China will coordinate to promote employment in the digital, green and silver economies to expand residents' consumption.
Article 16 - Expanding Effective Investment
Article 16.2 states that China will improve the long-term mechanism for private enterprises to participate in the construction of major projects in railways, nuclear power, hydropower, water supply and other fields, including by increasing the shareholding ratio of private enterprises.
Article 21 - Actively adopt international standards
Article 21.2 states that China will promote the international mutual recognition of rules and standards such as energy efficiency, water efficiency and carbon footprint of key products, and promote the disclosure and voluntary disclosure of enterprise climate information and environmental information in accordance with the law.
Article 22 - Improving the Quality and Level of Trade and Investment Cooperation
Article 22.2 states that China will optimise the foreign investment environment, improve the foreign investment service guarantee system, and shape new advantages to attract foreign investment. This is aimed at increasing foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy conservation, environmental protection and other fields.
Article 32 - Strengthening the Protection of Marine Development and Utilisation
Article 32.3 states that China will explore and carry out marine carbon sink accounting.
