No soft options in pursuit of climate goals

With clean energy targets set, pressure is mounting on government bodies and regions to take decisive action

Editor's Note: During this year's two sessions－the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference－China Daily will publish a series of stories focusing on the achievements the country made in various fields during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). They show how the country met its development goals in different fields in the face of numerous challenges.

As the two sessions get underway on Thursday, many stakeholders in China and around the world are wondering what measures the country will unveil to achieve its ambitious target of realizing carbon neutrality within four decades.

In September, President Xi Jinping announced China will aim to reach a carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

However, even before the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the race to achieve peak carbon emissions was gathering pace.

Five provincial-level regions have vowed to spearhead efforts to reach the carbon target as the country enters the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

They are made up of rich regions such as Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai, and also the less-developed provinces of Hainan and Qinghai.

Nobody knows which region will be the next to join, but it seems clear those lagging behind will face increasing pressure to make contributions to meet emissions targets.