Energy transition key to carbon cuts, says report

A report on climate change released on Thursday said the key to reducing carbon dioxide emissions lies in energy transition to a low-carbon path.

Co-authored by experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Meteorological Administration and other institutions, the Annual Report on Actions To Address Climate Change 2021 mentioned challenges and actions needed to achieve carbon targets.

Carbon targets refer to China's commitment to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

The report provides measures to achieve the carbon targets and names a few major industries that should adopt an energy transition path to low-carbon development. Companies in the construction, transportation, and iron and steel sectors should play a leading role in the transition, it said.

For example, the transportation sector, which emitted about 1 billion metric tons of carbon in 2019, needs to find alternative fuels and improve energy efficiency technology, the report said. This year's annual report, the 13th, includes 30 articles written by 86 authors.

Chen Ying, a researcher from the academy's Research Institute for Eco-civilization who was also the associate editor of the report, said China can learn from the energy transition experiences of developed countries that have already seen their carbon dioxide emissions peak.

She said countries should cooperate in governance system enhancement, scientific innovation and financial support.

"Research has shown that human activities are major causes of global warming," Chen said. "Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is necessary to ease climate change."

Data from the World Meteorological Organization Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said that global carbon dioxide concentrations reached 413.2 parts per million, a measure of the amount of a gas in a sample of air, last year, much higher than the 280 ppm recorded during the preindustrial period before 1750.

Last year, the global temperature was 1.2 C higher than the average between 1850 and 1900, ranking among the three hottest years in historical meteorological records, according to the China Blue Book on Climate Change published by the China Meteorological Administration.