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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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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 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 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]

China has committed to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. Hebei, as a major energy province in China, has more challenging carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets. Based on the extended STIRPAT model, this paper evaluates the time to peak carbon and post-peak carbon trend changes in Hebei province under different scenarios from 2020 to 2060. Based on the support vector machine model with particle swarm optimization, this paper evaluates the carbon neutral pathways under different scenarios in Hebei province from 2020 to 2060 in terms of forests, croplands, wetlands, grasslands and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The results show that a monotonically flat trend without inflection point, a single-inflection-point plateau-period trend and a multi-inflection-point inverted U-wave trend occur after carbon peaks. Hebei Province can achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 under the policy scenario and the enhanced scenario, and the enhanced scenario is better. Comparing with existing studies, the innovation of this paper is to design different trends of changes after carbon peak, combining carbon absorption and carbon emission, and providing more diversified development paths for carbon neutral strategies through a more integrated perspective and multi-scenario comprehensive analysis. Therefore, In the future, Hebei Province should establish a platform for carbon emissions monitoring and carbon footprint assessment, and set up an early warning and assessment mechanism for carbon peaking, so as to prevent a rebound trend in carbon emissions after peaking. At the same time, it should introduce and develop carbon capture and conversion technologies and promote the low-carbon transformation of the industrial and energy sectors, thereby forcing the early realization of peak carbon. Pay attention to the role of forestry resources in carbon neutrality, increase carbon sink resources such as forests and wetlands, promote the development of CCUS, and enhance the implementation of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of China's environmental regulations, with a focus on the green credit policy, on green innovation in pursuit of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" goal. Given the implementation of the 2012 Green Credit Guidelines, this paper employs the Difference-in-Difference Method (DID) and conducts a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the interactions among the central government, local governments, and high-pollution and high-emission enterprises by exploring the impact of green credit policies on green innovation of these enterprises. Relying on 4503 samples of 237 high-pollution and high-emission enterprises listed in the main board in China from 2003 to 2021, this study reveals that the green credit policy can improve green innovation of these enterprises. Specifically, this study explores the detailed mechanism through which the green credit policy enables these enterprises to increase their market concentration and then the monopoly profits, which in turn promotes their green innovative productivity. In addition, this paper also reveals how local governments' political and financial incentives may serve as positive and negative moderating factors, respectively, within the impact mechanism. This study has valuable implications for how to effectively formulate and implement environmental regulations by balancing the interests of the central government, local governments and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As major strategic development areas in China, the provinces around the Yangtze River are facing the pressure of large aggregate CO 2 emissions and high per capita CO 2 emissions. The study on the pathway of reducing CO 2 emissions and increasing carbon sequestration will help China better clarify the ways realize the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality as soon as possible. In this paper, the extended STIRPAT model and OLS regression were used to establish a prediction model to estimate the CO 2 emissions during 2010–2060 under different scenarios. Meanwhile, the InVEST model was used to estimate the carbon sequestration, and the comparison with the CO 2 emissions was analyzed. The results show that Qinghai and Yunnan have achieved the goal of carbon neutrality in 2010. Under the low-carbon and energy-saving scenario and the baseline scenario, all provinces within the study area are anticipated to attain their emissions peak by 2030 or earlier, and the CO 2 emissions peak value of the whole study area is 3111 Mt and 3199 Mt, respectively. While under the high emissions scenario, only Chongqing and Qinghai will reach the emissions peak in 2030, and the whole study area will reach the emissions peak in 2040, with peak value of 3470 Mt. Under the three scenarios, the whole study area cannot achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Only Sichuan and Hubei can achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 and 2060 under the low-carbon and energy-saving scenario. All provinces and municipalities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are facing huge pressure of emissions reduction. The research reveals that the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality should be achieved by developing clean energy, transforming industrial structure, increasing carbon sequestration and improving carbon emissions trading system. [Display omitted] • The CO 2 emissions showed a pattern of increase during 2010–2020. • The whole study area will achieve carbon peak by 2040 or earlier. • The whole study area cannot achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. • The realization pathway of carbon peak and neutrality was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the nexus between the efficiency of carbon emission allocation and the efficiency of green development within the context of innovative city construction. Leveraging data from 283 prefecture-level cities and corresponding provincial-level panel data spanning the period from 2005 to 2019 in mainland China, the research employs the zero-sum gain DEA model to compute provincial carbon emission allocation efficiency and allocate allowances. Furthermore, it utilizes the all-factor non-radial directional distance function and the SBM-DEA model to gauge the green development efficiency of prefecture-level cities. The double-difference method is applied to evaluate the impact of innovative city construction on regional green development efficiency. The results indicate that an imbalance between carbon emission allocation efficiency and emission quotas detrimentally affects urban green development. However, technological progress, factor accumulation, and the institutional environment associated with innovative city building mitigate this negative impact. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a differentiated effect of innovative city building on regional green development efficiency. This paper not only explores the concept of achieving an equitable distribution of carbon emission allowances but also examines how innovative city building influences regional green development. By establishing connections between urban policies, the equitable distribution of carbon emission allowances, and regional green development, it introduces a new perspective for promoting high-quality development at the regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's energy transformation has been accompanied by potential energy security issues. However, the influence degree and driving mechanism behind this phenomenon remain unclear. In this paper, we developed a complex network-based technical resilience assessment framework and quantified both the historical trajectory and the prospective pathway of energy technical resilience in China. We proposed to reveal the relationship between cleaner energy supply and technical resilience by defining three energy technology resilience indicators: energy robustness, energy recovery rate, and energy performance loss. The results showed a consistent decline in energy technical resilience within China, predominantly characterized by an average diminution of 6.83% in energy robustness from 2010 to 2018. Taking carbon neutrality as a target, China's energy system transformation, characterized by increasing clean energy supply, leads to a significant improvement of 7.73% in energy robustness from 2020 to 2060. Conversely, the nationally determined contribution scenario exhibited negligible changes (±0.57%) in energy robustness, while a decline of 2.21% was noted under the business as usual scenario. Furthermore, energy robustness exhibited increments of 12.07%, 2.3%, and 4.17% for every 10% rise in the share of clean energy supply during 2020–2060, demonstrating greater resilience for cleaner energy systems against disruptions, including energy import interruptions, malicious attacks, and random failures. It has been concluded that enhancing the supply of clean energy can significantly contribute to bolstering China's energy technical resilience, while simultaneously addressing climate change concerns. • Network analysis is used to assess China's energy technical resilience. • Energy technical resilience is evaluated regarding robustness, recovery rate, and performance loss. • Energy system robustness significantly increases under carbon neutrality scenario. • Increasing clean energy supply strengthens resilience against shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great scientific value to study the spatial differences and influencing factors of carbon emission intensity (CEI) in urban agglomerations (UAs), and it also has reference significance for China in formulating energy-saving and emission-reduction policies to achieve the target of carbon neutrality. Taking 165 prefecture-level cities in 19 UAs in China from 2007 to 2019 as the research object, this study investigated the spatial differences of CEI in UAs using exploratory spatial data analysis and explored the influencing factors of CEI via Geodetector. The results showed the following: (1) The CEI of the UAs showed a downward trend. (2) The CEI of the UAs has typical spatial agglomeration characteristics, where the North comprises mainly high-high and low-high types, whereas the South is primarily high-low and low-low types. (3) The influencing factors of CEI have undergone a transformation from industrial structure to population urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialization has increased global carbon emissions, necessitating effective climate change mitigation measures. China, the most populous developing nation, faces the challenge of strategizing emissions to meet national carbon neutrality objectives. However, research on specific regions' carbon emissions drivers and causal factors is limited, particularly across prefectural-level cities. This study estimates the spatial and temporal patterns of carbon emissions across China's prefectural cities and utilizes both OLS regression and stepwise regression models to analyze the impact of various factors influencing carbon emissions in these cities. Results reveal the following: (1) The country's overall 20-year carbon emissions continue to grow from 3020.29 Mt in 2001 to 9169.74 Mt in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 5.71%; the eastern region has seen a gradual deceleration in emissions, whereas the western region continues to experience an increase. Carbon emissions in cities within each subregion consistently rise. (2) Carbon emissions in Chinese prefectural-level cities exhibit strong spatial autocorrelation and clustering (Z > 1.96, p < 0.05), with hot spots primarily in the eastern coastal areas and cold spots in the northwest to southwest regions. (3) Economic and demographic factors significantly increase carbon emissions, while climate and urbanization effects are more complex and variable. Economic growth and population increase are the most significant influencing factors, but regional variances exist in carbon emissions determinants in subregional prefectural cities. These insights provide valuable insights into national emission dynamics at the prefectural level, providing a theoretical basis for enhancing carbon emission strategies across various jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of global climate change has led to a widespread consensus on carbon reduction, with the power industry being the principal contributor to carbon emissions necessitating an inevitable transition of its energy structure. Concomitantly, the escalating frequency of natural disasters caused by extreme weather presents formidable challenges to both secure power supply and the low-carbon transition of the power system. To fulfill the developmental requirements of a low-carbon power system and address the carbon emission risks imposed by natural disasters, this paper proposes a bi-level model for generation expansion planning (GEP) that incorporates constraints on the carbon emission trajectory and the influence of natural disasters. The planning-level model optimizes investment costs of various generation technologies and energy storage (ES), as well as the overall operational expenses over the planning period, with an objective to minimize them. It incorporates carbon emission trajectory constraints and policy constraints, such as carbon peaking, carbon neutrality and renewable energy (RE) penetration rates, in order to optimize the planning installed capacity of power sources. The operational-level model aims to minimize typical daily operating costs while also simulating power unit outputs in routine and disaster scenarios. A case study is conducted in a disaster-prone province in southern China to analyze the power generation expansion planning and the trajectory of carbon emissions from 2020 to 2060 under different scenarios. The simulation results show that compared to thermal power, the planning scheme mainly focused on RE with ES is better suited to achieve the goal of a low-carbon transition of the power grid. Moreover, after considering natural disasters, the cost and carbon emissions of power system planning are higher, and the risk of carbon emissions increases with the severity of disasters. • A multi-time scale bi-level low-carbon GEP model is proposed. • Natural disaster scenarios and low-carbon policy constraints are considered in the GEP model. • Carbon emission trajectory of the planned power system is estimated and introduced as a constraint into the GEP model. • Evaluation indicators that comprehensively consider low-carbon performance and economic feasibility are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CGE model elaborately depicting six CCS technologies was developed. • Impacts of four CCS incentive scenarios on decarbonization pathways were simulated. • CCS can sequester 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually in China by 2060 with policy incentives. • CCS incentives can reduce China's future primary energy demand by 7.7 ∼ 17.4 %. • CCS incentives can increase GDP by 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % compared to no policy scenario. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, considered as a pivotal tool in mitigating climate change within the fossil energy system, particularly in China, has experienced slower development than expected. The exploration of direct incentive policies to facilitate its growth remains relatively underdeveloped. This study developed a hybrid dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the substantial impacts of CCS incentive policies on China within the context of carbon neutrality target. Two potential incentive policies, carbon emission trading system (ETS) and 45Q tax credit, were simulated, with different sectoral coverage. The results indicate that CCS technologies can reduce carbon emissions by 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually by 2060 through the strategic implementation of these incentive policies. The 45Q tax credit demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting early-stage research and development (R&D) and demonstration of CCS, while the ETS policy facilitates the commercial development of CCS in the later stage of development. By 2060, the implementation of CCS incentive policies could potentially result in 7.7 ∼ 17.4 % reduction in China's primary energy consumption, 71.2 ∼ 82.7 % decrease in the carbon price of ETS and 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % increase in the GDP compared with the no-policy scenario. In addition, the sectoral output in various sectors and the welfare of urban and rural households also increase. This paper provides an important reference for the realization of China's carbon neutrality goal and the model framework can be applied to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Even though China has mapped out different policies targeting the mitigation of its environmental degradation, the country still occupies the 1st position in the ranking of carbon emissions due to excessive utilization of non-renewable energy sources in its domestic economic activities. From a theoretical and empirical point of view, factors like economic growth, financial development, export diversification, technological innovation, and renewable energy can be considered to play a vital role in environmental quality. Therefore, this study exposes the environmental performance of China amidst export diversification, financial development, innovation, and clean energy use. Due to the non-availability of data, the annual data of China are converted to quarterly data from 1995Q1 to 2018Q4, and autoregressive distributed lag-(ARDL) and Granger causality approaches are adopted in this study for quantitative and insightful analysis. The findings from both approaches expose the environmental implications of the selected variables (renewable energy, financial development, technological innovation, and export diversification) to China's sustainable development. ARDL approach has confirmed the inverted U-shaped link between financial development and emissions of carbon for China, a negative link between renewables, technologies, and carbon emissions, and a direct association exists between the diversification of export, economic growth, and emissions of carbon. This pattern points toward mitigating environmental dilapidation with renewable energy, technology, and financial development. The Granger causality output lends support to the ARDL findings; hence, a policy initiative that will promote the renewable energy sector and technological innovation through financial programs is advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Global climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world today, and forests play a crucial role as significant carbon sinks and providers of ecosystem services in mitigating climate change and protecting the environment. China, as one of the largest developing countries globally, owns 60% of its forest resources collectively. Evaluating the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests not only helps assess the contribution of China's forest resources to global climate change mitigation but also provides important evidence for formulating relevant policies and measures. Results: Over the past 30 years, the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests in China has shown an overall upward trend. Except for coastal provinces, southern collective forest areas, as well as some southwestern and northeastern regions, have the advantage of lower carbon sequestration costs. Furthermore, LSTM network predictions indicate that the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests in China will continue to rise. By 2030, the average carbon sequestration cost of collective forests is projected to reach 125 CNY per ton(= 16.06 Euros/t). Additionally, there is spatial correlation in the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests. Timber production, labor costs, and labor prices have negative spatial spillover effects on carbon sequestration costs, while land opportunity costs, forest accumulation, and rural resident consumption have positive spatial spillover effects. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate regional disparities in the spatial distribution of carbon sequestration costs of collective forests, with an undeniable upward trend in future cost growth. It is essential to focus on areas with lower carbon sequestration costs and formulate targeted carbon sink economic policies and management measures to maximize the carbon sequestration potential of collective forests and promote the sustainable development of forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government announced the clear goal of attaining carbon neutrality by 2060, in order to gradually achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whose impact on global warming needs to be reduced while also a sustainable industry needs to be promoted. Recognizing the critical role of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) in supporting green innovation and achieving the carbon neutrality agenda, this study aims to fill a research gap by emphasizing this overlooked nexus. The former examines the influence of GHRM, green innovation, and carbon neutrality on environmental performance by carefully analyzing the current literature on China's achievement of carbon neutrality and its implications for environmentally friendly performances. The current study assesses the planning frameworks of the country, explores the concept of achieving carbon neutrality, and evaluates the practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data for Chinese prefecture-level and above cities from 2003 to 2017, we employed the difference-in-differences (DID) method to explore whether innovative city constructions reduced carbon emissions. The results show that innovative city constructions significantly curb carbon emissions in Chinese cities, which is supported by a series of robustness tests. Specifically, we found that innovative city constructions could reduce carbon emissions by 5.21%, which is equivalent to a total of about 5.46 million tons. In addition, we provided evidence that innovative city constructions curb carbon emissions by promoting technological innovation, industrial upgrading and industrial green development, ecological improvement, and government intervention. Furthermore, heterogeneous results indicate that the carbon reduction effect of innovative city constructions is mainly found in eastern cities and cities with better industrial development and human capital base. Our findings further enrich the study on the environmental benefits of national innovation incentives and public policies and provide important insights in carbon neutrality and achieving sustainable development, especially for developing and emerging market countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building operation sector in China represents 22% of the national energy consumption and 22% of the carbon emission, of which urban residential buildings accounted for 24% in 2019. Such figures for the housing sector are projected to increase sharply in the near future, while China aims to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and reach neutrality before 2060. To reduce the impacts of the urban housing sector and address the energy use and waste generated by large-scale demolition and reconstruction, the central government started promoting the energy retrofit of urban residential buildings, raising such policies to the national strategic level. Jiangsu Province is one of the most urbanised, with a rapid growth in the energy consumption of residential buildings. The Multi-Danyuan and Single-Danyuan Apartment built in 1980–1999 are the most representative residential types in its urban areas. While still adequate functionally, they were designed and built to low energy standards and show significant potential for energy retrofit. Nonetheless, their current performance and energy-saving potential are under-researched, while more detailed and reliable data would be critical to support retrofit design and policy making. This study investigates and characterises the typical use and energy performance of the two building types. Additionally, seven measures and six retrofit scenarios were identified based on the optimal energy reductions and regulations from selected countries. The simulations indicate that, without intervention, the energy consumption of the typical urban residential buildings can reach 122 kWh/m2 under the typical high-energy user scenario. By selecting a set of effective energy-saving measures, the operational energy use for heating and cooling can be reduced by up to 52.4%. Current local standards prove cost-efficient, although less effective in reducing energy use compared to international best practices, indicating potential improvements to the contribution of building retrofit towards achieving the national carbon reduction goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has set an ambitious national determined contributions target to peak CO 2 emissions by 2030 and aims to be carbon neutral by 2060. One of China's top energy consumers and CO 2 contributors, the steel industry accounts for 13% of the country's total consumption and 15% of CO 2 emissions. In response to the present global warming trend, there is an urgent need to cut energy consumption and CO 2 emissions to promote low-carbon growth. This paper attempts to provide a detailed analysis of the steel industry's CO 2 emission reduction path to carbon neutrality. Further efforts in terms of industrial structure, material efficiency, energy efficiency, and low- or zero-carbon technologies are required to achieve a low-carbon transition. Given that decarbonization is a significant priority in the steel industry in many countries, this study focuses on the goals and technological paths of low-carbon emissions projects to optimize existing technology priorities and propose development directions. Deep decarbonization is also projected to be achieved by combining CCUS and hydrogen metallurgy technologies. The steel industry requires collaborative efforts to standardize CO 2 emission accounting methodologies and establish a carbon trading system to strengthen carbon emission management. • The steel industry is one of the key contributors to carbon neutrality which needs to accelerate decarbonization. • Reducing energy consumption and CO 2 emissions to keep up with the current global warming trend are reviewed. • This paper selects low-carbon emission projects to optimize current technology priorities and provide development directions. • Policy recommendations and next steps for low-carbon transition are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional energy development and approaches are significant for China's overall economic and social development. The GDP in Zhejiang province surpassed 6 trillion yuan in 2019, and its energy consumption reached 200 million tons of standard coal (tce), both of which are at the forefront of China. In order to explore the main factors of the increase in energy consumption in Zhejiang and provide essential references for energy saving and other provinces, this paper analyzes the total energy consumption and industrial sectors on the basis of the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) model. Study results show that the economy's scale is the most crucial factor affecting Zhejiang's energy consumption, with a significant growth effect. In 2015, the scale effect increased energy consumption to the highest value of 14 million tce and then reduced it to 13 million tce in 2019. The impact of the population on energy consumption increased by 10 million tce from 2010 to 2019. Energy intensity reduces energy consumption by between 0.05 and 0.15 billion tce per year, which is the main factor in reducing energy consumption. The energy structure generally plays a weak positive role due to the different energy types. The decomposition of the energy consumption per unit of value added in the industrial sector showed that the intensity and structural effect primarily reduce energy consumption, for example, the metal smelting and rolling, textile printing and paper, electric power, heating, and other industries. According to the results, enterprises should enhance the intelligence and efficiency of dispatch management and emergency responses. Zhejiang should also accelerate an international oil and gas trading center and resource allocation base to reach its carbon-neutrality goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• More reliable modeling assumptions and methods are proposed. • Price regulation may increase industrial output in China. • The reform can lead to a cleaner power mix and better economic structure. • The reform can be of great help to alleviate the fiscal deficit. • Impact mechanisms through cost linkages in different situations are put forward. China promised to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060. However, electricity prices are still regulated, which may affect the effect of carbon neutrality, especially in China, because 70% of China's electricity comes from thermal power generation. In this paper, a dynamic recursive computable general equilibrium model (CEEEA/CGE model) is applied to simulate the electricity market-oriented reform under the target of carbon neutrality from 2020 to 2060. The results show that the target may increase the demand for labor and capital to cope with increasing energy costs, and the reform may reduce GDP. However, power reform can significantly optimize the energy and economic structures and alleviate the fiscal deficit. Moreover, this paper finds and concludes the mechanism causing these effects (such as factor substitution, price advantage, government revenue, and structure), which provides policymakers with a new perspective of power reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, coal phaseout is critical for China to achieve carbon neutrality and contribute to global decarbonization. Here, utilizing the Global Change Assessment Model, this paper simulates China's coal phaseout pathways at the sectoral level between 2015 and 2060, considering the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The results show that China's coal consumption peaks at 96.4 Exajoules (EJ) in approximately 2020 and needs to decrease to 10.9 EJ by 2060 to achieve carbon neutrality. Specifically, the power sector bears the most significant proportion of responsibility, as its coal consumption must fall to 1.4 EJ by 2060, which is approximately 97.2% lower than the peak in 2020. The industrial sector is next and needs to decrease consumption to 9.2 EJ of coal in 2060, which is a reduction of 32.3 EJ below the 2020 level. Electricity will replace coal as the dominant energy source in the industrial sector after 2040. However, a portion of feed coal will remain in the industry for a long time. Among the industrial subsectors, the steel sector needs to put significant pressure on efforts to phase out coal, followed by the cement and nitrogen fertilizer sectors. In 2060, these three sectors will consume 5.7 EJ of coal, accounting for 64.1% of the total coal consumption in the industrial sector. The deployment of coal-CCS is one of the alternatives to achieve carbon neutrality and ensure smooth coal phaseout. Under the carbon neutrality scenario, the annual deployment of coal-CCS needs to exceed 0.13 EJ from 2025 to 2045, with a peak at 3.3 EJ in 2045. • China's coal phaseout pathway is assessed in the carbon neutrality scenario (CNS). • Coal consumption needs to drop to 10.9 EJ in 2060 to achieve carbon neutrality. • The power sector's coal will decrease to 97.2% below the peak by 2060 in the CNS. • The industry will pass the power sector as the top coal consumer by 2045 in the CNS. • The deployment of coal-CCS will peak at 3.3 EJ after 2045 in the CNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission trading, a market-incentive environmental regulation, plays a critical role in leading China towards the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. To improve the national carbon emission trading in China, we analyze the effects of the policy in pilot provinces and pilot A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2016. Particularly, to explore the pilot policy's environmental and financial impacts, this paper applies a difference-in-difference method. After the robustness check, the results confirm the carbon emission trading pilot's significantly positive impact at both firm- and province-level regarding carbon emission reduction. Meanwhile, corporate innovation seems to partially mediate the relationship between the policy and corporate carbon emission reduction. Plus, the policy promotes firms' market-based financial performance but such impact on accounting-based financial performance is insignificant. Ultimately, the operational mechanism of the policy is proved to be effective. In this paper, industry- and firm-level carbon emissions databases are established via environmental extended input-output table, which fill the research gap of China's firm-level carbon emissions. To ensure the reliability of results, the list of covered firms is sorted out manually in accordance with the disclosed data of seven carbon trading markets. Our results are meaningful for avoid productivity reduction and mechanism re-design in the context of the national carbon emission trading launched in 2021. Specifically, encouraging firms to further improve their productivity and competitiveness by innovation could eventually achieve a win-win situation between economic performance and environmental merits in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting low-carbon development in the iron and steel industry (ISI) is essential for China to achieve the carbon neutrality targets. This paper separately adopts the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) technique and the Mean Impact Value (MIV) method to analyze the impact of driving factors on the CO 2 emissions of ISI in the historical and future dimensions. Furthermore, this paper establishes the extreme learning machine model optimized by the bat algorithm (BA-BP) to explore the carbon emission reduction pathways of ISI in the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, the low-speed, medium-speed and high-speed development scenarios considering the constraints of carbon neutrality targets. The results reveal that: (1) Production capacity and energy efficiency are important drivers of CO 2 emissions in ISI; (2) The emission reduction situation is not optimistic under the BAU scenario, and it is difficult to accomplish the carbon neutrality goals by 2060; (3) Under the most ideal emission reduction pathway (corresponding to the high-speed development scenario), ISI will reach its peak in 2022 with the peak value of 2143.42 MtCO 2. Compared to the peak year, the CO 2 emissions will be reduced by 654.69 MtCO 2 and 1558.61 MtCO 2 in 2030 and 2050, respectively. Moreover, the achievement of short-term and long-term emission reduction targets depends on production capacity decline and technological progress, respectively. The optimal emission reduction pathway provides a reference for ISI to formulate periodic emission reduction targets. • The improved extreme learning machine is employed to predict the carbon emissions. • The emission reduction pathways are explored under the carbon neutrality target. • Controlling production capacity is a crucial reduction strategy. • The energy rebound effect is supposed to be weakened. • The application of advanced technologies will greatly promote emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]