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The ambitious targets of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 (Goal 3060) have emerged as the driving force in the development of China's low-carbon energy policy. Adopting a systematic review approach, this article provides a timely analysis of key Chinese renewable energy and energy efficiency policies under Goal 3060 across five sectors: electricity, industry, transportation, buildings, and local governments. In addition, the review identifies challenges to be addressed and offers policy recommendations. There are five main conclusions: (1) expedite the development of market-based and network-based governance systems; (2) pursue the harmonization of policies by avoiding contradiction and fragmentation; (3) develop new policies, especially in the building and transportation sectors; (4) embrace surveillance technologies to improve implementation and compliance; and (5) ensure just transition by implementing policy to reduce the negative socioeconomic impacts on fossil fuels-based communities and workers. This review serves as a useful guide for scholars interested in China's clean and low-carbon energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of afforested area in environmental protection was emphasized in the 12th Five Year Period. Therefore, we first synthetically assess the afforested efficiency by non-oriented Network SBM model. The overall process is divided into two stages, and PM2.5, NOx, and SO2 are viewed as the linkage between two stages. Moreover, the afforested area is used as the final output in the second stage. According to the empirical results, the energy efficiency is higher than the afforested efficiency, and the low overall efficiency mainly due to the bad performance of afforested efficiency. The average afforested efficiency score was less than 0.42 in these five years, indicating that although the average afforestation area increased gradually, the afforestation efficiency did not improve significantly. Most provinces should take effective measures to control the emissions of PM2.5, NOx, and SO2 and gradually improve the afforested area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]