hina has made notable progress in its green and low-carbon energy transition and has established the world’s most systematic and comprehensive policy framework for carbon reduction, according to a new white paper titled “Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality: China’s Plans and Solutions” released by China’s State Council on November 8, 2025, ahead of the COP30 global climate conference in Belém, Brazil, which started two days later.
In 2020, the Chinese government issued its dual carbon goals – to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The white paper presents an overview of progress in the last five years, and shares China’s approaches, actions and experience.
To realize the carbon targets, the Chinese government has formulated a “1+N” policy framework, under which “1” stands for the guiding principles and the two top-level documents on reaching carbon targets, while “N” encompasses action plans in key sectors, industries and administrative districts.
Thanks to the policy framework with clear action plans and roadmap, China has achieved new energy development on the largest scale and at the fastest speed in the world, with the consumption of non-fossil energy increasing from 16 percent in 2020 to 19.8 percent in 2024.
By the end of August 2025, China’s installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power had surpassed 1,690 gigawatts (GW), triple that of 2020 and accounting for about 80 percent of the newly installed power generation capacity since 2020. The share of wind and photovoltaic power in China’s total power consumption is steadily increasing at an average annual rate of 2.2 percentage points.
China is also making active efforts to develop hydropower, with regular installed hydropower capacity at around 380 GW and that of pumped-storage hydropower stations at about 62.37 GW by the end of August 2025.
China is pursing robust, safe and orderly development of nuclear power. By the end of August 2025, there were 112 nuclear power units in operation, under construction or approved for construction, which when finished, will give a combined installed capacity of 125 GW, the biggest in the world.
By the end of 2024, China led the world in the annual production capacity of green hydrogen energy at over 150,000 tons. By the end of August 2025, China’s installed capacity of biomass power generation had reached 46.88 GW, a 60 percent increase over 2020.
China has also accelerated clean and efficient utilization of fossil energy, reducing the amount of fossil energy consumption from 84 percent in 2020 to 80.2 percent in 2024.
China’s efforts and achievements in carbon reduction are of great significance amid the global climate crisis where scientists warn of the danger of missing mitigation targets. The UN Environment Programme’s latest Emissions Gap Report released on November 4, 2025 warns that “nations remain far from meeting the Paris Agreement goal to limit warming to well-below 2 C, while pursuing efforts to stay below 1.5 C.”
“Reductions to annual emissions of 35 percent and 55 percent, compared with 2019 levels, are needed in 2035 to align with the Paris Agreement 2 C and 1.5 C pathways, respectively. Given the size of the cuts needed, the short time available to deliver them and a challenging political climate, a higher exceedance of 1.5 C will happen, very likely within the next decade,” the report says.
In September 2025, two months before COP30 was due to start, China published its 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which pledges to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases in all economic sectors by 7-10 percent by 2035 from the peak figure, with an absolute emission cut of 1-1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
China, the white paper says, is now charting a new course for global climate governance by engaging in and leading global climate governance, promoting green development under the Belt and Road Initiative and increasing international cooperation on green and low-carbon development.
“Looking forward, China stands ready to work with the international community to advance eco-environmental conservation, promote green development, address global climate challenges, protect the green Earth, and secure a cleaner and more beautiful world,” the white paper concludes.
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