China’s
Green Development

Issue brief – White Paper on China’s International Development Cooperation in the New Era

Feb 5, 2021

_{This issue brief analyses China’s international development cooperation, going beyond ‘aid’ to include bilateral, trilateral and multilateral partners, such as the UN. It explores the potential of South-South Cooperation (SSC) to drive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that total foreign assistance from 2013-2018 reached a cumulative RMB 270.2 billion, mainly to Africa and Asia.}

_{To maximize the potential of this financing for low-carbon development, it offers suggestions to improve development effectiveness, accountability and transparency, including clearer definitions tracking different categories of flows. It also advises strengthening project management, by boosting planning, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation. It further emphasizes the importance of ensuring that projects meet local development priorities in partner countries, through effective policy-making and finding areas that serve the most vulnerable.}

Issue brief – China in Numbers

April 14, 2021

_{This issue brief highlights China’s development in numbers over recent years, affecting society, the economy and environment. For low-carbon development, key statistics it shares include the fact that while coal remains dominant in the energy mix (56.8%), clean energy (natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power) rose to 24.3% in 2020. It adds that the industrial sector is China’s main driver of energy consumption, at 66% of China's total in 2018.}

Policy brief - United Nations Policy Dialogue on Green Development

July 15, 2021

_{This policy brief extracts key conclusions and recommendations from the January 2021 UN Policy Dialogue co-organized by UNDP and UNEP, titled “Acting on COVID-posed challenges: Accelerating the Transition to a Low- carbon Economy.” In particular, that mitigating emissions, while meeting China’s rising energy demand, is crucial. China’s aims to peak emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060 – while aligning with the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement – call for improving the industrial structure and energy mix.}

_{Policy experts advised that to meet the Paris target of 1.5°C, the share of coal in primary consumption must be below 5%, while non-fossil energy should exceed 85% by 2060. It adds that beyond boosting the supply of renewables, curbing demand for fossil fuels is essential to a zero-carbon shift. This includes carbon pricing, energy efficiency and demand-side management (DSM). This brief also examines the potential of green finance, technology and international engagement, along with Nature Based Solutions (NBS).}

Issue brief - China’s 14th Five-Year Plan

July 23, 2021

_{This brief analyses China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021 to 2025) for its development over the next five years. It observes that for the first time, no explicit growth target was given, only that GDP should be “within a reasonable interval.” This gives the Government flexibility to pursue other targets, including environmental goals. However, an implicit growth path is embedded in China’s 2035 vision and President Xi Jinping’s aim to double the economy by 2035, implying average growth just below 5% year-on-year for the next 15 years.}

_{It also notes this Plan’s aim to achieve higher quality, more efficient, more fair, more sustainable and safer development, an evolution from the previous FYP, where economic growth was “central.” It elucidates key strategies from the 14th FYP to achieve this more sustainable, inclusive growth, including innovation-led development, rural revitalization and improving people’s well-being. It also puts forth suggestions to align these more closely with the SDGs. These include more comprehensive, transparent and timely data to track progress, along with more front-loaded actions towards carbon neutrality, noting that while the Plan’s environmental targets align with China’s climate commitments, they focus on capping energy and carbon intensity per unit of GDP, rather than overall emissions.}

Issue brief - China’s 14th Five-Year Plan: Spotlighting Climate and Environment

July 23, 2021

_{This brief also examines China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, but with a specific focus on what it means for the environment. Overall it notes, energy consumption and emissions intensity targets broadly reflect China’s climate pledges, albeit within the lower rather than upper range. In addition to the above, it highlights the aim to increase the share of non-fossil energy (including nuclear and hydropower) in primary consumption to around 20% by 2025, while adding ‘reasonable controls’ on the construction of coal power plants.}

_{It also points out that emissions reductions depend on the economy not growing too quickly on its still high-carbon path. It also adds that most initiatives presented target curbing emissions from the supply side, rather than phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and/or the using taxation or regulation to change the relative prices of fossil fuels and renewables, removing market distortions. It concludes that concrete climate actions should be front-loaded to address these gaps, as some experts maintain that China’s absolute emissions would need to plateau by 2025 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.}

Issue brief - Future Energy Development in China - A brief on White Paper: Energy in China’s New Era

Aug 23, 2021

_{This policy brief summarises key developments in the State Council’s White Paper (WP) titled Energy in China’s New Era, highlighting China’s energy development between 2012 and 2019, along with policies and plans for energy reform. It notes that renewable energy facilities and investments support the growing share of non-fossil sources in China’s energy production, with China accounting for 30% of global renewable energy production capacity in 2019 and 30% of the global total investment (US$818 billion) from 2010-2019.}

_{Given the WP’s emphasis on putting people first, this brief also recommends integrating a people-centred strategy into energy transition plans. Line agencies can conduct social impact pre-assessments, collecting bottom-up feedback, identifying groups most at risk of being left behind and providing policy or programme support, as well as possibly financial support (e.g., ensuring that solar panels are affordable for farmers via targeted rural subsidies). Given China’s role in global energy cooperation, it also recommends boosting innovation, development and clean energy transfers; channeling funds towards low-carbon projects; strengthening human resources and institutional capacities, as well as evaluating investment proposals using harmonized sustainability standards aligned with the SDGs.}

Policy brief - Towards an Integrated Approach for Biodiversity Conservation — Lessons from UNDP’s work in China

Oct 8, 2021

_{This policy brief highlights UNDP’s contributions to protecting China’s biodiversity, including mainstreaming biodiversity policies, expanding Protected Areas (PAs), as well as improving their management, by sharing international best practices. In doing so, it notes that UNDP has worked with over 10 ministries and most provinces in China to protect biodiversity over the past two decades.}

_{Between 2013 and 2019, about 2.96 million hectares of wetland PAs were established in China, among which 1.9 million were supported by UNDP-GEF projects. This brief reviews China and UNDP’s efforts on biodiversity protection and conservation. Based on those shared experiences, it also offers key recommendations to overcome existing policy gaps for future consideration.}

Policy brief - United Nations Policy Dialogue Series: SDG-aligned Finance for Sustainable Development and Carbon Neutrality

Dec 12, 2021

_{This brief highlights the need for the financial system to support a just transition towards a green recovery, by channelling public and private financial flows towards the SDGs, extracting key conclusions and recommendations from the policy dialogue on SDG and green finance. In China, estimated investments required for carbon neutrality range from RMB 120 trillion to 170 trillion, well beyond any government’s reach, making the private sector critical.}

_{To mobilise a greater amount of private capital, innovation in financial tools can complement current green finance products, by widening financing options for firms with heavy footprints and ambitions to decarbonize, but limited resources to do so. Among these, this brief puts forward Sustainability Linked Bonds (SLBs), SDG Bonds and Transition Bonds (pioneered by Bank of China in 2021). To boost their uptake and effectiveness, it adds that clear standards, along with stronger information disclosure and accountability, are needed.}

Issue Brief - China's Climate Policy Documents - 1+N and Updated NDC

21 Dec, 2021

_{This issue brief examines five key government documents guiding China’s climate and environmental policy released before COP26, particularly the Working Guidance for Carbon Dioxide Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in Full and Faithful Implementation of the New Development Philosophy released 24 October 2021. It analyses key new targets, including: “The share of non-fossil energy consumption will be over 80%” by 2060 , the first number detailing China’s 2060 neutrality goal, along with for petroleum consumption to “reach its peak plateau” during the 15th five-year plan (2026-2030).}

_{This, coupled with the target to reduce coal consumption domestically during this time, signals a CO2 peak before 2030. It concludes, however, that China may need more front-loaded action, including peaking emissions and coal consumption as soon as possible, along with absolute CO2 emission targets, to keep the 1.5 C Paris target within reach.}