China Sets 2030 Carbon Reduction and Energy Targets

The State Council of the People's Republic of China issued an action plan on July 9, 2026, to guide carbon emissions peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan period from 2026 to 2030. The roadmap mandates a 17 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 2030 compared to 2025 levels and targets a non-fossil energy consumption share of 25 percent by the same year.

To meet these goals, the plan outlines a restructuring of the energy mix with 2030 installed capacity targets of 2.8 billion kilowatts for wind and solar, 410 million kW for hydropower, and 110 million kW for nuclear power. The strategy includes promoting green industrial development through zero-carbon factories, mandating green standards for new urban constructions, and targeting a 30 percent share of new energy vehicles in the national fleet.

Following this, the National Energy Administration released a three-year action plan on July 10, 2026, focusing on the energy sector's conservation and carbon reduction through 2028. This secondary initiative aims to increase the annual share of non-fossil energy consumption by approximately 1 percentage point and raise the proportion of coal-fired power capacity meeting efficiency benchmarks by 15 percentage points. Together, these measures support the broader national goals to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.