China’s Carbon Neutrality Policies in Energy Sector
The National Energy Administration ("NEA") has recently released the Action Plan for Raising Standardization for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in Energy Sectors (the "Plan").
The Plan envisions that, by 2025, a relatively complete energy standard system that can effectively support and lead the green and low-carbon transformation in energy sector will be initially established; by 2030, a structurally optimized, advanced and reasonable energy standard system will take shape, energy standards will develop in close coordination with technological innovation and industrial transformation, and energy standardization will provide powerful support and guarantee for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in energy sector. To this end, the Plan identifies multiple key tasks, such as vigorously promoting the standardization for non-fossil energy, strengthening the building of new power standard system, and accelerating the improvement of new energy storage technology standards. Among others, the Plan calls for efforts to coordinate with national standards and accelerate the building of standardized management, top-level design, and standard system for carbon emission reduction in energy sector; serve the needs for establishing a national carbon market mechanism and accelerate the development of key standards such as the carbon trading and offset mechanism for energy companies.