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This paper tries to explain the economic significance of “pursuing green development and promoting harmony between humanity and nature” in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from the following eight aspects. First, it explains how to respect, adapt to, and protect nature through the confirmation of ownership, valuation classification and incentive. Second, it analyzes why China should work actively toward the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality from the new security concept, new challenges, new situations, and new tasks brought by the urgency and severity of climate change risks. Third, it expounds on the difficulty and complexity of addressing climate change from multiple aspects, such as the ratchet effect, Giddens’s paradox, prisoner’s dilemma, lock-in effect, asset stranding, intergenerational equity, and the Wandering Earth scenario. Fourth, it recognizes the importance of stability, overall planning, and coordination based on the overall planned and coordinated triangle of high-quality development, carbon neutrality, and energy security. Fifth, it emphasizes the importance of green and low-carbon technological innovation by means of the IPAS equation. Sixth, it explains the essence of carbon neutrality as the industrial transition based on the energy transition, which is an economic logic. Seventh, taking the carbon market as an example, it explains the economic principle that the market mechanism plays an important role. Eighth, it explains how finance empowers the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality as well as high-quality development. Finally, this paper is of guiding significance for economics, finance, international trade, and policy research, and in the meantime, provides new research tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has always tried to maintain multilateralism and advocated working together to deal with global climate change through multilateral mechanisms. Although China’s announcement to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 comes as no surprise, its commitment to carbon neutrality does. As the period between its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is far shorter than that in the developed countries, China’s economic and energy structures need to be adjusted toward the low-carbon and carbon-free end with unprecedented efforts. To that end, China should define the responsibilities of local authorities and industrial entities to promote the orderly accomplishment of carbon peaking in all regions and industries. To supply the huge investments needed to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, China has an urgent need to accelerate the development of green finance and a national carbon emissions trading market, guide the rational allocation of resources, and channel resources to eco-friendly projects for green and low-carbon development. At the same time, China and the international community should strengthen dialogue and coordination, promote international cooperation on the way to carbon neutrality, formulate widely acceptable policy guidelines as soon as possible, and avoid unilateral measures that may cause conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of carbon neutrality does have economic costs; however, few studies have measured the cost and the economic neutral opportunities. This paper uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate China's carbon neutrality path from 2020 to 2060 and analyzes its economic impact. This paper innovatively adjusts the CGE modeling technology and simulates the boundary of the Porter hypothesis on the premise of economic neutrality. The results show that the carbon neutrality target may reduce the annual GDP growth rate by about 0.8% in 2020–2060. To make the carbon pricing method under the carbon neutrality framework meet the strong version of the Porter hypothesis (or economic neutrality), China must increase its annual total factor productivity by 0.56–0.57% in 2020–2060; this is hard to achieve. In addition, the study finds that China's 2030 carbon target has little impact on the economy, but the achievement of the 2060 carbon neutrality target will have a significant effect. Therefore, the paper believes that the key to carbon neutrality lies in the coexistence of technological innovation and carbon pricing to ensure that we can cope with global warming with the lowest cost and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining. Employing a top-down measurement approach, this paper assesses the carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining in China from 2017 to 2021. The findings reveal that mining activities during this period contributed to a total of 77.84 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in China. By utilizing data at the provincial level, we find that the seasonal migration of Bitcoin mining pools will lead to regional power demand shocks in China. Additionally, this study predicts future carbon emissions from Bitcoin mining in China, projecting cumulative carbon dioxide emissions of 76.40 million tons and 722.18 million tons by 2030 and 2060 respectively, in the absence of any policy interventions. Based on these findings, this paper posits that governments worldwide should make efforts to restrict the carbon emissions from Bitcoin mining and opt for environmentally friendly technological methods to fundamentally alleviate Bitcoin's reliance on energy. The implication for central banks is that carbon emission should be taken into consideration when designing the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state hydrogen storage technology has emerged as a disruptive solution to the "last mile" challenge in large-scale hydrogen energy applications, garnering significant global research attention. This paper systematically reviews the Chinese research progress in solid-state hydrogen storage material systems, thermodynamic mechanisms, and system integration. It also quantitatively assesses the market potential of solid-state hydrogen storage across four major application scenarios: on-board hydrogen storage, hydrogen refueling stations, backup power supplies, and power grid peak shaving. Furthermore, it analyzes the bottlenecks and challenges in industrialization related to key materials, testing standards, and innovation platforms. While acknowledging that the cost and performance of solid-state hydrogen storage are not yet fully competitive, the paper highlights its unique advantages of high safety, energy density, and potentially lower costs, showing promise in new energy vehicles and distributed energy fields. Breakthroughs in new hydrogen storage materials like magnesium-based and vanadium-based materials, coupled with improved standards, specifications, and innovation mechanisms, are expected to propel solid-state hydrogen storage into a mainstream technology within 10–15 years, with a market scale exceeding USD 14.3 billion. To accelerate the leapfrog development of China's solid-state hydrogen storage industry, increased investment in basic research, focused efforts on key core technologies, and streamlining the industry chain from materials to systems are recommended. This includes addressing challenges in passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and hydrogen refueling stations, and building a collaborative innovation ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, research, finance, and intermediary entities to support the achievement of carbon peak and neutrality goals and foster a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient modern energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving tourism carbon neutrality is essential for sustainable tourism development. This paper uses the coupled coordination distance model, modified gravity model and social network analysis to attempt to construct a nationwide tourism carbon neutral spatial network to clarify the role of each province in the process of achieving China's tourism carbon neutrality. The results show that: (1) only seven provinces will achieve tourism carbon neutrality in the target year of carbon neutrality in China (2060). (2) From 2001 to 2060, most provinces are at the stage of coordinated development of tourism carbon emissions and tourism carbon sinks, but the degree of coordinated development is low. (3) The structure of China's tourism carbon-neutral spatial network tends to be looser from 2001 to 2060. As the time series progresses, the role of each province in the spatial network will be gradually clarified. (4) In the process of achieving the goal of China's tourism carbon neutrality, the number of tourism carbon sink input areas is much larger than that of tourism carbon sink output areas. Accordingly, this paper proposes countermeasures from three aspects: government-led, market system and voluntary mechanisms, in order to promote the achievement of China's tourism carbon neutrality goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals were proposed, different institutions and scholars carried out research on China's medium- and long-term mitigation pathways. Through the literature review of China's research on carbon neutrality, this paper finds that the zero-carbon energy transition is the key to achieving carbon neutrality. The main driving factors of reducing energy-related carbon emissions include the cleanliness of primary and secondary energy supply systems, the electrification of energy consumption and the development of hydrogen energy, energy efficiency improvement, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions. Furthermore, based on the literature, this paper conducts a quantitative comparative analysis, and selects key indicators for comparative analysis and summary from seven dimensions, including economic and social development, carbon emission pathways, primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, final hydrogen energy consumption, electricity demand and supply, and installed capacity and structure of power generation. Main conclusions are as follows: (i) In terms of carbon emission pathways, the institutions generally believed that China will peak carbon emissions around 2028 and achieve carbon neutrality between 2050 and 2060. Achieving net-zero or near-zero emissions first in the power sector is the key to carbon neutrality across the society; (ii) In terms of energy supply, it is a consensus to increase the proportion of clean energy and reduce carbon emissions from the source. The proportion of clean energy in primary energy will increase to more than 85%, and the proportion of clean energy power generation and installed capacity will reach more than 90%; (iii) In terms of energy use, electricity will become the core of final energy consumption in the future. The predicted electricity consumption across the society will range 14.3–18.4 PWh, and the predicted electrification rate will exceed 65%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, human activities have caused the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide, which has severely impacted the Earth's ecosystem and human health. Therefore, carbon reduction has become the focus of global attention. In this study, the Zhouyuan region of China, which is rich in ancient remains, is taken as an example. Based on the land use characteristics in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, the spatial-temporal evolution of land use and carbon storage in the Zhouyuan region is simulated using four methods, including land use classification, land use transfer maps, patch-level land-use simulation (PLUS), and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) models under three scenarios, including the natural development scenario, urban development priority, and heritage conservation priority in 2030. According to the results, the carbon storage in the area in 2030 under all three scenario simulations has decreased compared with 2020, indicating that the region faces great challenges in achieving its targets of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The paper points out four causes for the decrease in carbon storage, and five suggestions for increasing carbon storage are proposed, such as developing a carbon storage master plan, applying energy-saving technologies, establishing an ecological substitution mechanism, and so on. Through the study of carbon storage in the Zhouyuan region, this paper hopes to establish a mechanism to balance urban development, heritage conservation, and carbon sinks on the one hand, and encourage more scholars to participate in the study of carbon sinks in areas rich in ancient remains, so as to to jointly promote their healthy development on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is the only way for green low-carbon development. Technological progress is an important starting point for improving energy efficiency. Through scientific and technological innovation, improving energy efficiency is a practical way to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization. Due to the limitation of data and index selection, there is no qualitative analysis of carbon neutrality in this paper. Compared with previous studies, the paper has the following contributions: Firstly, the energy efficiency score of China's provincial level is measured with the DEA method and it is found that the average energy efficiency score of the eastern region is the highest, followed by the western region, and finally the central region. The results also show that the energy efficiency is not in accordance with the economic growth. The regions with higher energy efficiency scores are not always economically developed because of huge energy consumption supporting the economic development. Secondly, the Tobit method is used to study the impact of the reverse technology spillover effect of OFDI on China's energy efficiency. The results show that the spillover effect has a significant positive effect on the improvement of China's energy efficiency, and has a positive impact on the eastern and western regions, but has no significant impact on the western region. Finally, we put forward some policy recommendations to increase energy efficiency to approach carbon neutrality and thus promote green economic development. This paper enriches the content of energy economy, the research method is innovative, and the conclusion is more scientific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 capture from coal power plants is an important and necessary solution to realizing carbon neutrality in China, but CCS demonstration deployment in power sector is far behind expectations. Hence, the reduction potential of energy consumption and cost for CCS and its competitiveness to renewable powers are very important to make roadmaps and policies toward carbon neutrality. Unlike the popular recognition that capturing CO2 from flue gases is technically and commercially mature, this paper notes that it has been proved to be technically feasible but far beyond technology maturity and high energy penalty leads to its immaturity and therefore causes high cost. Additionally, the potential energy penalty reduction of capture is investigated thermodynamically, and future CO2 avoidance cost is predicted and compared to renewable power (solar PV and onshore wind power). Results show that energy penalty for CO2 capture can be reduced by 48%-57%. When installation capacity reaches a similar scale to that of solar PV in China (250 GW), CO2 capture cost in coal power plants can be reduced from the current 28-40 US$/ton to 10-20 US$/ton, and efficiency upgrade contributes to 67%-75% in cost reduction for high coal price conditions. In China, CO2 capture in coal power plants can be cost competitive with solar PV and onshore wind power. But it is worth noting that the importance and share of CCS role in CO2 emission reduction is decreasing since renewable power is already well deployed and there is still a lack of large-scale CO2 capture demonstrations in China. Innovative capture technologies with low energy penalties need to be developed to promote CCS. Results in this work can provide informative references for making roadmaps and policies regarding CO2 emission reductions that contribute towards carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of coal-fired power plants to nuclear power stations is a potential method for decarbonizing coal power and offers a pathway for low-carbon development in China's power industry. This paper focuses on retrofitting China's coastal coal-fired power stations and compares the potential nuclear reactor technologies for the retrofit: China's mainstream pressurized water reactor and the commercially operated fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The analysis compares the degree of matching between the two technologies and coal-fired power stations in terms of unit capacity, thermal system parameters, unit speed, structural dimensions, and weight, which significantly impact the retrofit scheme. The results indicate that HTGR is more compatible with coal-fired power plants and is recommended as the type of nuclear reactor technology to be retrofitted. The study selected the 210 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) as the reactor technology for retrofitting a typical 300 MW class subcritical coal-fired unit. Based on the concept of subcritical parameters upgrading, the potential analysis and strategy study of retrofit is carried out in terms of the turbine, the main heat exchange equipment, the main pumps, and the main thermal system pipelines in the conventional island. The results indicate that the conventional island of the HTR-PM nuclear power plant has significant potential for retrofitting, which can be a crucial research direction for nuclear retrofitting of coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, excessive emissions of carbon dioxide have further intensified global warming, which poses a great threat to human society. The best way to reverse this situation is to take action to equalize the "carbon emissions" with the "carbon absorption," i.e., carbon neutrality (CN). To better understand the evolution and display a broad panorama of CN research, this paper provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications in the field of CN from 2006 to 2021. We use the Web of Science Core Collection as the data source, and a total of 633 publications have been retrieved. In the paper, we measure the productivity and influence of publications through recognized bibliometric metrics, and visually analyze publications using VOS Viewer and CiteSpace. The analysis results show that China is the most productive country/region. The study illustrates that in order to reach the goal of CN, it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions such as full using renewable energy. Simultaneously, it is also essential to enhance the "negative emissions" of carbon such as taking advantage of carbon sink and carbon capture, utilization, and storage. This paper provides some references for scholars who are interested or research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of the green belt and road is an inevitable choice to conform to and lead the green and low-carbon cycle development and an inherent requirement for sustainable development. Therefore, we establish an evaluation system of green development oriented to carbon neutrality, and calculate the green development level (GDL) of the provinces along the belt and road in China from 2003 to 2018 by using a three-dimensional evaluation model. In addition, this paper employs the Obstacle Degree Model to identify the main obstacle factors that affect GDL, and provides targeted and differentiated countermeasures and suggestions for improving the regional GDL. Our results suggested that the overall GDL has improved, but not obvious, with a low level. The GDL and coordination degree between different regions exist certain differences, and its spatial pattern is characterized by "high in southeast and northeast, low in southwest and northwest". From a regional perspective, innovation capacity is the key factor that affects the green development of the region in southeast, northeast, northwest and southwest China. Driving economic green transformation and promoting industrial energy conservation and emission reduction through technological innovation are the internal driving forces to achieve regional green sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income gap and global warming have always been topics of common concern to scholars worldwide. Internationally, there is no consensus yet about the impact of the income gap on carbon emissions, and there are few studies about that in China. To explore the effect of the income gap on carbon emissions at the provincial level in China, this paper first theoretically and qualitatively analyzes the non-linear impact of the income gap on carbon emissions. Then, the Gini coefficient of the resident income of different regions in China from 2010 to 2019 is calculated. Finally, a threshold regression model is used to quantitatively test the existence of a threshold effect between the income gap and carbon emission intensity in China. The threshold value is the per capita disposable income of residents. The results show that the income gap is positively related to carbon emission intensity in poor regions. In high-income areas, the widening income gap inhibits the increase in carbon emission intensity. Based on this, this paper proposes policy recommendations to narrow the income gap and reduce the intensity of carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2023, China's crude steel production amount reached 1.019 billion tons, and the energy consumption of China's steel industry amount reached 561 million tons of coal. China's steel industry, with its dominant reliance on coal for energy and the primary use of blast furnaces and converters in production processes, as well as its massive output, has become the main field for achieving China's "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" goals. Firstly, this article summarizes the current production status of the steel industry and the situation of carbon emissions in the steel industry. Secondly, it discusses the dual-carbon policies based on the national and steel industry levels and outlines the future directions for China's steel industry. Subsequently, it analyzes the current state of research and application of mature and emerging low-carbon technology in China's steel industry and details the low-carbon plans of China's steel companies using the low-carbon technology roadmaps of two representative steel companies as examples. Finally, the article gives policy suggestions for the further carbon reduction of China's steel industry. The purpose of this paper is to show the efforts and contributions of China's steel industry to the early realization of its "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now, China has made it clear that it will strive to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 (the "dual carbon" goals), based on the logic that carbon peaking is a prerequisite for carbon neutrality. The year 2021 is the first year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period. As the main battlefields to achieve the "dual carbon" goals, cities are also required to build on their pathways towards such goals under new conditions. Based on the progress China has made with pilot cities for low-carbon development and the discussion on 60 cities by category, this paper identifies the commonalities and differences between Chinese cities' pathways towards carbon peaking, and concludes that Chinese cities need to peak their carbon emissions in an organized and step-wise way on the basis of classification and according to their own development level and emission characteristics. In light of the above conclusion, this paper provides feasible suggestions for Chinese cities' carbon peaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalation in carbon dioxide concentration has precipitated global climate warming, accentuating ecological and environmental concerns. Notably, China stands as the world's largest carbon emitter, with the Taihu Lake basin emerging as a carbon-intensive region within the country. This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis spanning 2005 to 2020, calculating the economic contribution coefficient of carbon emissions and the ecological carrying coefficient of carbon absorption in the Taihu Lake basin. The study includes a delineation of carbon balance zones and an exploration of the geographical and spatial influences of both ecosystem and economic factors. The overarching trend in carbon emissions within the Taihu Lake Basin initially exhibited rapid growth, followed by a fluctuating decline, with the pivotal year being 2012, recording the apex of emissions at 575.8293 million tons. Concurrently, total carbon absorption demonstrated a fluctuating growth trajectory, ascending from 82.3503 million tons in 2005 to 85.6488 million tons in 2020. The carbon emission intensity in the basin manifested a pattern of high concentration in the northeast and low concentration in the southwest, while the carbon absorption intensity displayed the inverse pattern. The carbon balance across the Taihu Lake Basin revealed a spatial incongruity, characterized by a suboptimal pattern in the northeast and a favorable pattern in the southwest. Zhejiang Province emerged as an ecological stronghold within the basin, acting as the primary carbon sink functional area. Urban built-up areas and forested regions emerged as principal influencers of carbon balance in the Taihu Lake basin. Urban construction land, population density, and arable land area were identified as primary contributors to carbon emissions, whereas per capita GDP, forests, grasslands, and water bodies were identified as main contributors to carbon absorption in the watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial development (FD) is pioneered to solve the problem of vital capital supporting for carbon neutrality. Detecting the effect of FD on carbon emissions (CE) plays an important role in accurately planning FD, and guiding carbon neutrality in China. To clarify the influence of FD on CE and the underlying pathways concerning scale effect, structural effect, and technological effect, this paper use China’s 285 city-level data spanning 2003–2016 and fixed effect (FE) models and instrumental variable (IV) methods to test the effect of FD on carbon neutrality in China. The findings show that (1) the development of financial deepening, financial interrelation ratio, and financial intermediary all prompt carbon emissions at the national level. (2) Regional heterogeneity indicates that FD benefits carbon neutrality in mid-Western cities but fails in eastern cities. (3) FD increases carbon emissions by boosting electricity consumption but decreases carbon emissions by promoting structural optimization and technological progress. (4) Environmental regulations partially curb the carbon emissions effect of FD. This paper proposes some suggestions to reduce CE and gain carbon neutrality in China by greening FD, optimizing industrial structure, promoting technologi)cal innovation and strengthening environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will play a crucial role in the global clean energy transition toward carbon neutrality. While the development of solar PV generation has been explored in depth, the development of high-proportion solar PV generation has yet to be discussed. Considering the back force of the constraint of achieving carbon neutrality within the specified timeframe, this paper establishes a unified, multi-dimensional, and achievable framework through which to perform a system analysis for exploring the potential risks and challenges involved in the development process of high-proportion solar PV generation and investigating possible pathways to fostering the development of high-proportion solar PV generation. The results show that the critical risks and challenges include a low conversion efficiency, poorer resource endowment, more limited land resources, a low use of rooftop resources, an increasing complexity of power system scheduling, and low public awareness. These challenges have emerged with the development of solar PV generation in China and the aim of developing high-proportion solar PV generation. Based on our findings, possible pathways toward developing high-proportion solar PV generation have been determined, including promoting the research and development of higher PV efficiency, determining the optimal development sequence of solar resources, tapping the potential of land resources, increasing the use of rooftop resources, improving the resilience of the power system, and enhancing the public awareness of deploying solar PV generation. Finally, recommendations are proposed to optimize policy formulation for stimulating the high-quality development of high-proportion solar PV generation for carbon neutrality in countries including China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Carbon neutrality" refers to the total amount of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly produced by a country, business, product, activity or individual over a period of time. Through afforestation, energy saving and emission reduction, etc., to offset the carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions generated by itself, to achieve positive and negative offset, to achieve relative "zero emissions", which belongs to the same term as "carbon peaking" in energy saving and emission reduction. "Carbon" means carbon dioxide, and "neutralization" means a positive and negative balance. The carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emitted is offset by afforestation, energy saving and emission reduction, which is called "carbon neutrality". Goal decomposition is the process of gradually completing the overall goal according to multiple fields to form a goal system. Target decomposition should be carried out according to the principle of integration and integration. That is, the overall goal is decomposed into sub-goals of different levels and departments, and the synthesis of each sub-goal reflects the overall goal and ensures the realization of the overall goal. This paper aims to study the decomposition of building carbon neutrality goals to sustainable energy development strategies, combining energy conservation and emission reduction with the building industry to reduce environmental pollution and energy waste. Based on the theory of sustainable development, combined with the development characteristics of China's new energy industry, this paper makes a theoretical analysis of the sustainable development of the new energy industry from the three systems of economy, society and ecology. Using the new growth theory and the dissipative structure theory, the restricting effect of the depletion of basic energy on economic development and the influence on the alternation of industrial structure are discussed. The experimental results of this paper show that the building energy consumption intensity will reach 1.43tC/10,000 yuan, 1.25tC/10,000 yuan in the ideal scenario, and 1.1tC/10,000 yuan in the low-carbon scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clean and low-carbon transition of China's power sector is of great importance to the achievement of dual carbon targets and the control of global warming. This paper first estimates the remaining carbon budget of the power sector under a 1.5 °C temperature control target and on this basis constructs 1.5 °C and 2 °C power transition scenarios, examining key boundary conditions such as economic development and changes in the cost of power generation technologies. Second, the Genetic Algorithm-Extreme Learning Machine (GA-ELM) model is used to forecast the electricity demand for the next forty years. Finally, with the objective of minimising the total planning cost, a pathway optimisation model of the power system is constructed to explore the optimal transition path for the power system using the dual carbon target, carbon budget and electricity demand as the main constraints. The results of the study show that the carbon budget of the Chinese power sector is approximately 7.1 × 1010 t CO2 for a 1.5 °C temperature control target. The electricity demand tends to saturate after 2050 and reaches 1.58 × 1013 kWh in 2060. The time of the carbon peak and carbon neutralisation in the power sector is 5 years ahead of the double carbon target. By 2060, the power system will be dominated by new energy sources, with the proportion of installed non-fossil energy capacity at over 90% and the proportion of non-fossil energy generation at over 85%. Compared to that under the 2 °C temperature control target, the power sector under the 1.5 °C temperature control target needs to accelerate the pace of the low-carbon transition of electricity and deal with key issues such as the orderly withdrawal of coal power, the construction of a diversified clean energy system and the application of carbon capture devices. This study recommends that the process of building a zero-emissions power sector requires a good pace of the construction of new power systems at a suitable pace, increased efforts to tackle key technologies and improved relevant market mechanisms. China's carbon–neutral pathway in the power sector also has implications for other countries' clean, low-carbon transitions of their power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ecological civilization becoming an increasingly high profile topic, terms such as carbon neutrality and carbon markets have entered the research landscape. Carbon prices are the core of carbon markets. After analyzing the eight carbon trading markets in China, this paper finds that carbon prices are poorly balanced, i.e., they vary widely between pilots. Regional carbon prices show a discrete distribution, and regions with better carbon market development do not have a spatial demonstration effect on neighboring regions. Therefore, in the initial stage of China's unified carbon trading market, the mandatory control threshold amount should be lowered to allow more enterprises can participate in emission reduction. Reliance on nonclean energy should be weakened, investment in environmental protection and emission reduction should be strengthened, the proportion of carbon offset in forestry should be increased, and a carbon tax should be gradually introduced. The paper's overall aim is to bridge regional barriers and narrow differences to achieve a smooth transition from pilot regions to national and global carbon markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, due to the growth in machine learning and data mining, for scheduling applications in China's industrial intelligence, we are quite fortunate to witness a paradigm of evolutionary scheduling via learning, which includes a new tool of evolutionary transfer optimization (ETO). As a new subset in ETO, single-objective to multi-objective/many-objective optimization (SMO) acts as a powerful, abstract and general framework with wide industrial applications like shop scheduling and vehicle routing. In this paper, we focus on the general mechanism of selection that selects or gathers elite and high potential solutions towards gathering/transferring strength from single-objective problems, or gathering/transferring storms of knowledge from solved tasks. Extensive studies in vehicle routing problems with time windows (VRPTW) on well-studied benchmarks validate the great universality of the SMO framework. Our investigations (1) contribute to a deep understanding of SMO, (2) enrich the classical and fundamental theory of building blocks for genetic algorithms and memetic algorithms, and (3) provide a completive and potential solution for VRPTW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the new progress in building China's national carbon market since 2020, and analyzes the connotation of China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals ("dual carbon" goals) and its significance to socio-economic development in China. Through case analysis, this paper expounds the role of China's recent carbon trading activities in promoting the transition toward green and low-carbon socio-economic development. On that basis, this paper conceives a top-level design for building the national carbon market that serves the "dual carbon" goals: building and improving the national carbon market that fundamentally serves as an emission reduction tool, developing the institutions and systems of the national carbon market with a focus on emission cap, creating a multilevel and diversified carbon trading scheme centered on the national carbon market, exploring a mechanism that takes carbon emission reduction as the core and promotes the synergistic effect of the carbon market with other environmental rights trading markets, and pursuing the healthy and orderly development of carbon finance that aims to serve carbon emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing millennium documents the most adverse consequences of global warming which in contrast to pre-industrial era are more devastating. Thus, these prevailing consequences raise numerous concerns regarding the well-being of future and current generation. Scholars, in this regard, are putting efforts punctiliously towards methods that could halt the surging emissions. This paper also attempts to contributes to existing literature by reporting the empirical evidences regarding the role of energy transition technologies, renewable energy production (REP), trade openness, green investment, and carbon taxes in carbon neutrality in Chinse economy covering the time span of 1980–2020. By employing Dynamic Auto-regressive Distributed Lags (DARDL) model to check the association, findings exposed that electricity production from water sources, electricity production from solar sources, REP, trade openness, green investment, and carbon taxes are negatively correlated with CO2 emissions. Study offers policymakers a help in formulating policies related to achieve carbon neutrality using renewable sources of energy production, carbon taxes, and green investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, China promised to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and these targets are famous as "Goal 3060" in China. Chinese resource-based cities are concerned about the realization of Goal 3060 to practice national action against environmental change. In this paper, this study evaluates the impact of population, economic growth, energy intensity, industrial structure, fixed asset investment, and urbanization level on carbon emissions in Chinese cities. To do so, the paper divides 36 Chinese cities into four types (growing city, mature city, recessionary city, and regenerative city) from 2003 to 2017 by factor investigation according to the diverse development stages. The extended STIRPAT model is used to assess the impact of various factors on CO2 emissions in the Yellow River basin and diverse city levels. The panel regression analysis was conducted for the basin as a whole and cities at different development stages through a fixed-effects model and a linear regression model with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. The results show that (1) the total carbon emissions in the Yellow River basin continued to climb during the study period. However, the growth rate slowed down significantly after 2012. In addition, there are differences in the total carbon emissions and growth rate of different cities. (2) Population, real GDP, energy intensity, industrial structure, and fixed asset investment all have a significant positive impact on carbon emissions in the overall basin except the urbanization level which has a significant negative influence on carbon emissions. (3) There is heterogeneity in the influencing factors of carbon emissions in resource-based cities at various development stages. Based on these results, corresponding policies are proposed for different types of cities to help resource-based cities achieve the 3060 dual carbon goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of peak carbon and carbon neutrality, the utilization of CO2 has attracted attention with the aim of reducing carbon emissions by converting CO2 into high-value chemicals or energy. Methanol (MeOH), which is both a hydrogen and a carbon carrier, is considered the most promising among the CO2-conversion products. This paper focus on routes for electrochemical conversion of CO2 to MeOH using green power and green hydrogen to achieve negative CO2 emissions. Three feasible technical routes for electrochemical conversion of CO2 to MeOH are proposed in this paper: Route 1, electrolysis of water to H2 and hydrogenation of CO2 to MeOH; Route 2, electrochemical reduction of CO2 to MeOH; and Route 3, co-electrolysis of CO2–H2O to syngas and synthesis of MeOH from syngas. Techno-economic assessments of the three routes are conducted using technical maturity surveys, system simulations and cost analyses to provide reference data for route selection for CO2 conversion to MeOH in China. Compared with the other routes, Route 1 is advantageous in terms of technical maturity and commercial application prospects. Although Route 1 is presently economically unviable, it is expected to achieve profitability and commercial application in the future with decreases in the cost of renewable power and continuous development of water-electrolysis technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mid-21st century, natural gas will enter its golden age, and the era of natural gas is arriving. This paper reviews the development stages of global natural gas industry and the enlightenment of American shale gas revolution, summarizes the development history and achievements of the natural gas industry in China, analyzes the status and challenges of natural gas in the green and low-carbon energy transition, and puts forward the natural gas industry development strategies under carbon neutral target in China. The natural gas industry in China has experienced three periods: start, growth, and leap forward. At present, China has become the fourth largest natural gas producer and third largest natural gas consumer in the world, and has made great achievements in natural gas exploration and development theory and technology, providing important support for the growth of production and reserves. China has set its goal of carbon neutrality to promote green and sustainable development, which brings opportunities and challenges for natural gas industry. Natural gas has significant low-carbon advantages, and gas-electric peak shaving boosts new energy development; the difficulty and cost of development are more prominent. For the national energy security and harmonious development between economy and ecology under the carbon neutral goal, based on the principle of "comprehensive planning, technological innovation, multi-energy complementarity, diversified integration, flexibility and efficiency, optimization and upgrading", the construction of the production-supplystorage-marketing system has to be improved so as to boost the development of the natural gas industry. First, it is necessary to strengthen efforts in the exploration and development of natural gas, making projects and arrangement in key exploration and development areas, meanwhile, it is urgent to make breakthroughs in key science theories and technologies, so as to increase reserve and production. Second, it should promote green and innovative development of the natural gas by developing new techniques, expanding new fields and integrating with new energy. Third, there is a demand to realize transformation and upgrading of the supply and demand structure of natural gas by strengthening the layout of pipeline gas, liquefied natural gas and the construction of underground gas storage, establishing reserve system for improving abilities of emergency response and adjustment, raising the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy consumption and contributing to the transformation of energy consumption structure, realizing low-carbon resources utilization and clean energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has made remarkable achievements in reducing carbon emissions in recent years. However, there is still much reduction room before achieving carbon neutrality. In Beijing, the capital of China, it is a strategic choice to respond to global climate change by promoting green and low-carbon development. This paper calculates the carbon dioxide emissions of key industries in Beijing and analyzes the temporal evolution trend of carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions in Beijing before 2030 are predicted based on the grey prediction GM (1,1) and BP neural network model. The effects of factors of carbon dioxide emissions are discussed using the threshold regression model under different economic conditions. The results show that energy consumption intensity, GDP per capita, and the ownership of civil cars have a positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions, while the number of permanent residents and urban green space areas have a negative impact on carbon dioxide emissions. These findings of carbon emission prediction and influencing factors contribute to carbon reduction path design. Related policy implications on carbon emission reduction are put forward from the aspects of promoting industrial upgrading, accelerating the construction of advanced economic structures, optimizing transportation structures, and strengthening green building development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over the role of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in China's environmental governance has received increasing attention. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2019, this paper investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading on carbon emissions to provide empirical evidence for the above theoretical argument. The results show that fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are negatively correlated with carbon emissions, while the interaction term for fiscal decentralization with industrial structure upgrading presents a facilitating effect on carbon emissions. Besides, fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and the interaction term have significant regional heterogeneity on carbon emissions. When fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are taken as threshold variables, the effects of industrial structure upgrading and fiscal decentralization are significantly nonlinear. Moreover, environmental regulation, transportation infrastructure, and carbon emissions are positively correlated. There exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, which proves environmental Kuznets curve theorem. However, FDI and urbanization have no significant effect on carbon emissions. According to the above conclusions, it is necessary to strengthen the positive interaction between fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in mitigating carbon emissions, promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of China's economy, thus realizing the goals of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's declaration to the international community to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 is of great significance in advancing the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and has a positive and far-reaching impact on China's high-quality development. This paper expounds on responsibilities and ambitions in tackling climate change, analyzes the high-quality development opportunities brought about by CO2 emissions peak and carbon neutrality, and discusses the net zero carbon emissions transformation in the new era of ecological civilization. This paper is of the view that development towards net zero carbon emissions provides a new impetus for building a Beautiful China, and promoting ecological civilization and green development. The essence of carbon neutrality should be correctly understood so that the world will work together to improve climate resilience. China should also deepen the understanding of the principles and methodologies of climate change economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing carbon emission mitigation and carbon utilization have become necessary for the world to respond to climate change caused by the increase of greenhouse gas concentrations. As a result, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies have attracted considerable attention worldwide, especially in China, which plans to achieve a carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. This paper proposed six priorities for China, the current world's largest carbon emitter, to achieve its dual carbon strategy in the green energy transition process. We analyzed and summarized the challenges and potentialities of conventional carbon utilization (CU), carbon capture utilization (CCU), and CCUS. Based on the current development trend, carbon dioxide capture, circular utilization, and storage (CCCUS) technology that integrates carbon circular utilization and partial sequestration, with large-scale underground energy storage were proposed, namely biomethanation. Technically and economically, biomethanation was believed to have an essential contribution to China's renewable energy utilization and storage, as well as the carbon circular economy. The preliminary investigation reveals significant potential, with a corresponding carbon storage capacity of 5.94 × 108 t~7.98 × 108 t and energy storage of 3.29 × 1012 kWh~4.42 × 1012 kWh. Therefore, we believe that in addition to vigorously developing classical CCUS technology, technical research and pilot projects of CCCUS technology that combined large-scale underground energy storage also need to be carried out to complete the technical reserve and the dual-carbon target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon sink is the process of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, through forests, wetlands, grasslands, and oceans. Through this process, greenhouse gases can be absorbed from the atmosphere. In order to analyze the contribution of carbon sinks to carbon neutrality, three parts of works were carried out on carbon sinks in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. Firstly, the regional carbon sinks were calculated based on actual data. Secondly, the macro-factors were selected related to carbon sinks, on which the econometric analysis was carried out. Finally, a carbon sink prediction model was constructed based on partial least squares regression. After that, three carbon sink development scenarios with different intensities were set up. Under these three scenarios, the carbon sink potential of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was forecasted from 2020 to 2030. The results show that under the strong carbon sink scenario, the carbon sink in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei can neutralize 388.6901 million tons/a of carbon emissions by 2030, whose contribution rate to China's carbon emission reduction can reach 10.48%. Compared with the baseline scenario and weak carbon sink scenario, the strong carbon sink scenario can achieve greater carbon sink potential and contribute more to China's carbon neutrality. As a conclusion, the target of carbon neutrality of China can be easier to achieve under the strong carbon sink scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to global climate change, China has committed to peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, commonly known as the "30–60 Dual Carbon". Under the background of "30–60 Dual Carbon", this article takes the electric power industry, which is the main industry contributing to China's carbon emission, as the research object, explores the time and peak value of the carbon peak of the electric power industry, and analyzes whether carbon neutrality can be realized under the peak method, so as to get the carbon neutrality path of the electric power industry and serve as the theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant policies. The Environmental Kuznets Curve inspection and the relationship analysis are carried out, then the system dynamics model is constructed, the carbon emissions from 2020 to 2040 are simulated, and the peak time is predicted. Three different scenarios are set to explore the path of electricity carbon neutralization under the premise of a fixed peak. It is shown that Gross Domestic Product per capita index factors have the largest positive contribution, and thermal power share index factors have the largest negative contribution to electricity carbon emissions. Based on the current efforts of the new policy, carbon emissions can achieve the peak carbon emissions' target before 2030, and it is expected to peak in 2029, with a peak range of about 4.95 billion tons. After the power industry peaks in 2029, i.e., Scenario 3, from coal 44%, gas 9% (2029) to coal 15%, gas 7% (2060), where the CCUS technology is widely used, this scenario can achieve carbon neutrality in electricity by 2060. Adjusting the power supply structure, strictly controlling the proportion of thermal power, optimizing the industrial structure, and popularization of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology will all contribute to the "dual carbon" target of the power sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essential to achieving the 2060 carbon neutrality target in China lies in the performance of the construction industry. Decoupling economic development from CO2 emissions is the main strategy for reducing emissions in the construction industry. This paper is based on panel data for China and its 30 provinces during 2009–2019. A Tapio decoupling model is constructed to analyze the decoupling state of economic development and CO2 emissions in the construction industry. The logarithmic mean Divisia index model is constructed to continue the decomposition of the drivers of the decoupling state and CO2 emissions. The results show that (1) the economic development level of most provinces is positively correlated with their CO2 emissions; (2) Beijing and Jiangsu reach the ideal strong decoupling state, and Heilongjiang has the worst decoupling state. The same type of decoupling state shows a certain aggregation phenomenon in space; (3) economic output plays a critical role in promoting CO2 emissions and decoupling of the construction industry in China and the provinces. The main driver of decoupling is indirect carbon intensity; (4) energy intensity has a greater impact on CO2 emissions reduction in regions with more developed economic levels. Understanding the drivers of the decoupling state in China's construction industry provides a valuable basis for energy efficiency and emission reduction efforts in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently in the process of the middle and late stage of industrialization, and energy-related CO2 emissions have reached 10 Gt. This paper models energy consumption and related CO2 emissions and analyzes the development trends of various driving factors of CO2 emissions, explicitly considering China's economic and social development goals in the medium- and long-term. Different scenarios for 2020–2060 are projected based on the Kaya identity. Energy consumption will peak at 6,200 Mtce in 2035 in the BAU scenario with the energy-related CO2 emissions peaking at 11.1 Gt in 2026–2027 advanced by the rising non-fossil energy share, while energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the accelerated transition scenario would be potentially reduced by 300 Mtce and 300–400 Mt respectively. In the BAU scenario, the net CO2 emissions will remain around 2,000 Mt in 2060, after removing 1,800 Mt by CCS/CCUS, indicating that China needs to enhance its post-2030 policy to deliver the carbon neutrality pledge. Steady energy efficiency improvement, radical industrial and energy restructuring are three key driving forces for carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting cultivated land is an urgent mitigation measure for China to reconcile the contradiction between food safety and carbon neutrality. In the context of carbon neutrality, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model among local governments, agricultural technology service organizations (ATSOs), and farmers based on China's cultivated black land, and discusses the factors influencing the strategy choice of each stakeholder group and the final form of evolutionary stabilization strategies adopted by each stakeholder from the perspective of agricultural extension. Through numerical simulations, we reveal that two stable situations exist in the current state of protection of cultivated black land in China: full subject participation and government subject participation only. In order to achieve the optimal realization of the dynamic equilibrium of the three parties, we identify the key issues of cultivated land protection (CLP) and put forward reasonable suggestions, which are summarized as follows: (1) prohibit the excessive subsidies to farmers, and keep the appropriate subsidies at 100~140 CNY/mu to help the protection of cultivated land, if more than 140 CNY/mu is not conducive to the participation of local governments in CLP (mu, a Chinese unit of land measurement that equals to 1/15 a hectare); (2) an increase in the farmers' fines has a dampening effect on farmers digging black soil, and the game model achieves the ideal equilibrium when it reaches 10 billion CNY, which can be implemented as a long-term cultivated land protection policy; (3) maintaining the incentive fund at 5 billion CNY provides the greatest incentive for ATSOs to promote low-carbon agricultural technologies (LCAT), while the production trusteeship subsidies has no beneficial impact on ATSOs; (4) reducing production trusteeship costs and not increasing service charges is the most effective way of incentivizing ATSOs to promote LCAT. This means the service fee is maintained at 400 CNY/mu and the service cost is reduced to 308 CNY/mu. This study reveals the inner mechanism of CLP, provides a theoretical basis for the promotion of CLP technology, and proposes effective cultivated land protection suggestions, aiming to improve the overall implementation effect of CLP in China and help carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of carbon emissions accelerates global warming and causes environmental problems. Therefore, research on emission peak and carbon neutrality is of broad interest. In this paper, based on the relationships among carbon emissions, carbon absorption and urban population growth, a delayed differential equations model is established. Then, we analyze the existence and stability of a positive equilibrium point of the system and substitute the data for simulations. Eventually, according to theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, some suggestions for China to achieve the goal of emission peak and carbon neutrality are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy conservation and efficiency enhancement are the options to achieve carbon neutrality in coal‐fired power plants. Wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) is an important pollutant removal and energy consumption equipment in coal‐fired power plants, which emits a large amount of CO2 indirectly and has a great potential for emission reduction. In this paper, the emission reduction characteristics of multiple pollutants and energy consumption were analyzed by collecting 158 datasets of WESP. The results showed that WESP was effective at removing PM, PM2.5, SO3, droplets, and Hg with the following concentrations at the outlet: 1–10, 3, 1–5, 15, and 5 µg/m3, respectively. The emission factors of different pollutants were sorted in the descending order of size as droplets (average value 51.59 g/MWh), PM (19.15 g/MWh), SO3 (17.32 g/MWh), PM2.5 (8.21 g/MWh), and Hg (9.74 mg/MWh). Specific power/water/alkali consumptions were found as 0.5–2.5×10–4 kWh/m3, 10 × 106 t/m3, and 0.06–9.79 ×10–8 t/m3, respectively. These consumptions were negatively correlated with the inlet concentration of PM/SO3. The average annual emission of CO2 per unit installed capacity by the application of WESP was found to be 13.88 t/MW. It was estimated that the CO2 annual emissions by using WESP in coal‐fired power plants in China were 1.68×106 t. The CO2 annual emission reduction of 7.33×105 t could be achieved through grade 2 energy efficiency WESP (7.83 t/MW) of GB/T 37484‐2019. A further reduction of 3.18×105 t could be achieved if it could be controlled at grade 1 (5.20 t/MW). This study can provide a valuable reference for the subsequent operation of ultra‐low emission units to conserve energy and reduce CO2 emissions. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is a critical crisis threatening human survival and development. International organizations and countries worldwide are introducing policies and practices to achieve carbon neutrality. In China, numerous carbon neutrality policies have been established; however, a systematic understanding of the underlying policy logic is lacking. Using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, this paper analyzes selected carbon neutrality policies in China. We conducted a bibliometric visualization analysis of the texts of 20 policies and matched their logic to the elements of the IAD framework. We established 90 keywords with occurrences of no less than 10 times in China's carbon neutrality policies. The network visualization analysis identified six clusters. We discuss implementation challenges of China's carbon neutrality policies, address the policy implementation, and finally outline impacts on China's carbon neutrality governance. This study responds to the global concern over China's carbon neutrality commitments by clarifying the institutional logic of China's policies and actions. This study could provide a reference for countries worldwide that are designing and introducing carbon neutrality policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greenhouse gas emissions from China's transport sector, which account for a large proportion of China's total greenhouse gas emissions, are still increasing rapidly. Therefore, low-carbon transformation is urgently needed in China's transport sector. This paper provides an overview of the situation and features of greenhouse gas emissions from China's transport sector, and proposes carbon-neutral development paths for the transport sector based on current national policies, goals and previous research. China needs to work on many aspects, including transport restructuring, alternative fuel technologies and energy efficiency improvement, to achieve near-zero emission goals by 2060. Under the carbon neutrality goal, China's transport sector should strive to reach the carbon peaking goal by 2030, and limit carbon emissions within 100 million tons by 2060. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of electricity market reform highlights the need for China's photovoltaic (PV) industry to enter the stage of market competition. Under the carbon neutrality, what impacts electricity market reform has on China's PV industry is an important issue that needs to be considered. This paper analyzes the driving mechanism of the marketed on-grid price and constructs a system framework for the internal connection within the PV industry under the background of carbon neutrality. Then, two system dynamics (SD) models are built to perform the numerical simulation and analyze the evolution process. The results indicate that during the market competition stage, (i) the on-grid price will be stable at about 0.07 yuan/kWh by 2060; (ii) China's PV industry will go through three stages in the future: the first stage is the "rush to install" period for carbon peaking before 2030, followed by the "sluggish installation" period from 2030 to 2038. The third stage is the outbreak period of "PV + multi-scenarios."; (iii) under three scenarios by 2060, the proportion of PV power generation will account for 46%, 39%, and 32%, respectively, which are higher than those under the benchmark on-grid price; (iv) it is necessary for the government and enterprises to continue increasing support for research and development (R&D). Finally, we put forward corresponding policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep decarbonization aims to achieve the profound transformation of energy systems through steeply reducing carbon intensity in all sectors of the economy, which is the only way to achieve the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. It is of great practical significance for China to clarify the research themes and identify the research evolution trend of deep decarbonization. We first analyzed the connotation and characteristics of deep decarbonization, based on which we deeply read the related academic literature and the frontier reports issued by international organizations and research institutions to make a systematic review of relevant research themes. Moreover, based on the identification results of research hotspots and research frontiers of deep decarbonization obtained by bibliometric analysis, we analyzed the evolution trend of deep decarbonization research. The research found that: ① Deep decarbonization is essentially to promote the deployment of carbon reduction, zero carbon, and negative carbon technologies to achieve the transition of the entire energy system from a high carbon emission type to a net-zero emission type through technological, social, and economic policy paths. Compared with normal decarbonization, the characteristics of coverage and path planning determine that deep decarbonization is a more advanced decarbonizing process. ② The research themes of deep decarbonization mainly fall into four categories: challenges faced by deep decarbonization, technological paths of deep decarbonization, policy research oriented to deep decarbonization, and cost and benefit evaluation of deep decarbonization. ③ The evolutionary trend of deep decarbonization research can be divided into two stages. In the initial stage (2015-2018), the framework, including subdivided research fields and research frontiers of deep decarbonization research, was initially formed. In the rapid development stage (2019-2021), more detailed emerging research topics were emerging in the field of deep decarbonization research, and scholars began to turn to new research perspectives. Finally, the implications of deep decarbonization research for China were proposed: In terms of research perspective, deep decarbonization research should be expanded to the micro-subject level and to research on issues such as decarbonization of the corporate value chain and corporate decarbonization potential assessment with an interdisciplinary perspective. In terms of research methods and paradigms, multidisciplinary research methods should be used to better develop comprehensive models supporting accurate decision-making. New paradigms such as big data, machine learning, and simulation can be explored in deep decarbonization research. In terms of research content, this paper suggests the expansion of the current research boundary of deep decarbonization through studying the incentive mechanisms, investment and financing mechanisms, identification of emerging technologies, construction of technology systems, and establishment of cost-benefit evaluation frameworks, models and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government's use of fiscal policy, which includes fiscal income and spending, is crucial in its fight against environmental pollution and climate change. Innovation‐driven has arisen as a new alternative to reconcile economic success with environmental conservation in light of tighter resource restrictions and the suggestion of the Chinese High‐quality Development policy. The paper uses an econometric model to examine the connection between institutional resource consumption efficiency and carbon neutrality, using a data set consisting of Chinese inter‐provincial panel data from 2007 to 2020 as a research sample; fiscal decentralization is also discussed as a potential moderating factor. Collaborative innovation positively boosts ecological efficiency and produces geographical spillovers, and the findings suggest so long as the economic distance is considered. When it comes to increasing ecological efficiency, collaborative innovation plays a more important role than financial decentralization alone. Among these is the improvement of carbon neutrality, which is best achieved via the joint promotion of ecological efficiency and industrial organizations. By reducing the intensity of the positive effect of innovative cooperation on ecological efficiency, the moderating effect suggests that fiscal decentralization is a critical factor in this relationship. Promoting China's ecological efficiency necessitates a fair distribution of local budgetary spending. China should also actively encourage the degree of synergy between institutional resource consumption efficiency and associated institutions to improve eco‐efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality lays out a grand blueprint for carbon emission reduction and climate governance in China. How to reduce energy consumption is the key to achieving this goal. The economic development and energy consumption show a very large gap at the provincial level, and this paper divides China into six regions (North, Northeast, East, Mid-South, Southwest, and Northwest) and analyzes the dynamic changes and reveals the driving factors that have affected CO2 emission changes from 1997 to 2017. Then, the driving forces including energy intensity, energy structure, energy efficiency, economic activity, and population scale were discussed employing the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) based on provincial panel data. The results show that CO2 emissions from energy consumption show an upward trend, from 4145 Mt in 1997 to 13,250 Mt in 2017, with an annual average growth rate of 1.06%; coal consumption is the main source of CO2 emission. The regions with the highest proportion of CO2 emissions are the East and North, which account for 50% of total emissions. China's CO2 emissions from energy consumption, coal consumption, and output have shown significant spatial autocorrelation at the provincial scale. According to coal consumption, energy consumption CO2 emissions are divided into three stages: phase I (1997–2002), the increase in CO2 emissions in six regions was attributed to significant and positive impacts of energy intensity, economic activity, and population scale, the effects of which exceeded those of the energy structure and energy efficiency; phase II (2003–2012), the economic activity effect on CO2 emissions was highest in the East region, followed by the North and Mid-South regions; phase III (2013–2017), the East, Mid-South, and Southwest regions of China were dominated by the positive effects of energy intensity, economic activity, and population scale. The major driver of CO2 emissions is economic activity; the energy efficiency effect is an important inhibitory factor. Regional economic development and energy consumption in China are unbalanced; we conclude that differentiated emission reduction measures should be of particular concern for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is an important policy in the current global response to climate change and has been widely recognized by various industries. In the process of promoting carbon neutrality, new energy plays a pivotal role. In this study, the definition and connotation of new energy and its role and specific operation in the energy transition of carbon neutrality are firstly explained. Promoting new energy development requires significant green and low-carbon investments. Taking China as an example, this paper analyzes the opportunities brought by the carbon neutral process to the field of green finance and analyzes the main features and development trends of green finance in China at present. Then this paper proposes policy recommendations to strengthen the development of green finance in China in terms of improving the green financial policy system, enhancing the supply capacity of green financial services, and optimizing the supporting environment for green financial development. Finally, this paper analyzes the measures and experiences of the United States in promoting low-carbon development and proposes countermeasures for China's low-carbon development on the basis of the five major relationships that need attention in China's carbon-neutral process. That is, strengthen the top-level design and improve the regulatory policy system; optimize the energy structure and increase the proportion of clean energy; optimize the industrial structure and reduce energy consumption in key industries; build a complete low-carbon technology system and promote low-carbon technology research and development and demonstration applications, and encourage local conditions to explore low-carbon development paths. The development of green finance can contribute to the advancement of new energy technologies, thus contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the energy transformation under the carbon-neutral vision is the gradual replacement of high-carbon energy by zero-carbon and low-carbon energy. However, the large-scale deployment of clean energy technology in turn relies on key minerals such as copper, aluminum, zinc, and nickel. Based on this, this paper conducts research on the demand for key minerals in clean energy transition and the role of key minerals in clean energy transition. In particular, this paper calculated the demand for mineral supply for China's carbon neutrality target, and the impact of some mineral resource constraints on the carbon neutrality path. Relevant results can provide a decision-making basis for the future development and utilization of key mineral resources, as well as the implementation of future carbon-neutral goals. • We evaluate the impact of crucial mineral resource on the carbon neutrality path. • Copper's availability greatly affects the adoption of new energy technologies. • Limited resources hinder early carbon capture and storage development. • Negative emission technologies are necessary for China's carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change mitigation and adaptation are common global challenges, and how to accelerate carbon neutrality and green recovery is a major global issue. Market-oriented emission reduction policy has been widely concerned for its unique advantages, but most of the current market-oriented emission reduction policies are based on the consideration of end-of-pipe governance and lack of effective control of source reduction. Energy quota trading (EQT) is an innovation of an energy-saving and emission reduction system, which is based on the idea of source reduction. However, it is unknown about the evaluation of the effect of the EQT policy from the macro perspective. Based on the related statistical data of energy consumption, combined with the ARIMA model, STIRPAT model, and the synthetic control method (SCM), this paper analyzes the energy consumption distribution in China from 2001 to 2020 and comprehensively evaluates the effect of EQT in the pilots. The results show that: (1) The overall energy consumption in China shows a steady upward trend, and its distribution is unbalanced. (2) In absolute perspective, EQT can realize the "double control" of the total amount and intensity in energy saving and emission reduction, and the intensity control effect is better than the total amount control effect. (3) In relative perspective, EQT can enhance the potential of energy saving and emission reduction in the pilots, in which it needs to take the regional characteristics into account. The policy effect is still significant when eliminating some unobservable factors, which indicate that the policy is effective and can be replicated nationwide. The study comprehensively evaluates the effect of ETS from multiple perspectives, which can effectively avoid the misjudgment of the policy effectiveness caused by the single dimension evaluation, while it can also be used as a reference for the government to perfect the policies of energy management system and emission control system. Furthermore, the development of EQT is an important catalyst for policymakers to coordinate policies to accelerate the achievement of carbon-neutral targets and a more resilient low-carbon development model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States (U.S.) and China are key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and reaching carbon neutrality by around mid-century. Despite differences, carbon neutrality will be met more rapidly if the two countries coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy development and implementation. Building on long-term pathway models in the U.S. and China, current emissions trends and sources, and a policy analysis, this paper puts forward a novel framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality. The analysis reveals similar technology and policy pathways, policy gaps, and shared milestones for decarbonization in 2030, 2040, and 2050-2060. The main technological pathways focus on reductions in energy demand and non-energy-related CO2 emissions, decarbonization of electricity and fuels, and increases in electrification rates and CO2 sequestration. Given existing domestic policies and opportunities for further action, areas for coordination on carbon neutrality include common policy milestones; dialogue and technical exchange; research, development, and demonstration (RD&D); and international climate leadership. Despite escalated tensions between the U.S. and China, and challenges for climate cooperation, coordination between both countries on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. Carbon neutrality will be met more swiftly if the U.S. and China coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy. Despite the rise in geo-political tensions between the U.S. and China, coordination on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. An analytical framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality, includes technology and policy pathways, and common milestones of key sectors' decarbonization for 2030, 2040, and 2050-2050. The two countries could coordinate on common policy milestones, dialogue and technical exchange, research and development, and international climate leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's coalbed methane (CBM) industry is in an extremely important "climbing period" and "strategic opportunity period", which can be generally characterized by "three low and one small": low degree of exploration and development, low adaptability of main technology, low return on investment and small development scale. Under the "carbon peak and neutrality" background, the development status of CBM industry is systematically combed. The resources, technology, management problems and reasons are analyzed. Strategies and countermeasures to accelerate the industrial development are put forward according to the factors such as efficient development of resources, major technical breakthrough, talent team training, policy formulation and implementation, return on investment and so on. The existing problems are as follows: (a) The overall occurrence conditions in China are complicated and the development is difficult compared with the other countries. (b) The research precision accuracy of CBM resource conditions is not enough. (c) The adaptability of technology is poor. (d) The management mode is not suitable. In view of these problems, this paper puts forward the "two steps" development strategy and the technical and management countermeasures of "five in one". The corresponding "five in one" technology and management countermeasures are the formulation and implementation of relevant safeguard measures in accordance with the principle of collaborative innovation in five aspects: resources, technology, talents, policies and investment. Through the above measures, the dream and grand blueprint of CBM industry shall be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]