China Briefing, 19 August 2021: Kerry ‘to visit China’ again; Explanation of ‘campaign-style carbon reduction’; Emissions ‘administrators’
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46% OffHOW: Meng gave examples of how “particular” local authorities, industries or business had carried out “campaign-style carbon reduction”. Prof Alex Wang, the professors co-director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment of UCLA School of Law in the US, shared with Carbon Brief his understanding of Mengs speech. Explaining some phrases used by Meng, Prof Wang stated that the NDRC was criticising “unrealistic (脱离实际), one-size-fits-all (一刀切), frenzied (抢头彩) execution” of the federal governments environment policy.
WHY IT MATTERS: China and the US are both “absolutely key” to people “collective worldwide ability” to tackle environment change, Prof Nordin kept in mind. She stated that, although leaders in the two states viewed one another as “strategic rivals”, both countries shared an interest in suppressing climate change. She added: “More notably, by sending out the two senior authorities on climate change to satisfy before COP26, Washington and Beijing have indicated their strong political will to attend to the concern collectively.”.
Somewhere else, Beijings state media has actually focused on a brand-new main occupation created to assist with the countrys environment action: carbon emissions administrators. One such expert stated that his task included evaluating his companys “carbon discharging attributes”, along with formulating and carrying out “an optimum reduction plan” to assist the company hit its emissions targets.
WHAT: Beijing has actually discussed a brand-new environment guideline delivered by top officials in their special vernacular: to “correct campaign-style carbon decrease”. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state macroeconomic planner, stated at a press conference on Tuesday that the instruction was generally released to guarantee “no variance” from the main federal governments climate policy. Different media outlets, such as Xinhua, China News Service and Reuters, reported on the press conference.
Additional reading.
WHO: Although Kerry did not define who he would be fulfilling with in China in the CNN interview, according to Foreign Policy, he will have “yet another diplomatic arm-wrestling bout” with Xie Zhenhua, Chinas unique environment envoy. In February, following reports of Xies reappointment as Chinas environment envoy, Kerry called Xie a “leader” and “follower”. In April, Kerry became the very first senior official from the Biden administration to go to China.
Other news.
COAL: China announced plans to develop 18 brand-new coal-fired blast heaters and 43 coal-fired power plant units in the first half of this year, Reuters reported, citing figures from new joint analysis by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The Daily Telegraph also covered the research study. It wrote that “China is developing brand-new coal-fired power plants and blast heating systems at a quick rate despite vowing to slash its carbon emissions to net no by 2060.” Lauri Myllyvirta, analyst at CREA, described more findings in his visitor post for Carbon Brief.
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John Kerry to go to China for environment talks with Xie Zhenhua.
Beijing discusses campaign-style carbon decrease direction.
The directive was amongst a series of environment directives given by the Politburo– Chinas leading decision-making body– in late July.
John Kerry, US President Bidens climate envoy, plans to check out China “later this month” for a brand-new round of talks with his Chinese equivalent, Xie Zhenhua, according to Foreign Policy. Kerry meant to state that “Beijings pledge to wait up until 2030 to start seriously cutting emissions isnt nearly enough”, the outlet composed. Kerry last visited China in April to talk about US-China climate cooperation with Xie.
COP15: The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) will occur in “two phases” in 2021 and 2022 in Kunming, Chinas Ministry of Ecology and Environment confirmed on Wednesday, according to China News Service. The first stage, from 11-15 October, will consist of the opening ceremony, leaders addresses and “high-level” conferences, to name a few plans, the report stated. Overseas individuals are because of join the phase online. The 2nd stage will be held “offline” in “the first part of 2022” to allow in-person negotiations and discussions, it included.
SOLAR POWER: China has begun building the ground base of a space solar energy task to accomplish its strategy to collect energy from the sun and beam it directly to Earth, the Times reported. The 22,000-square-metre center is located in Chongqing and has an initial investment of 100m yuan (₤ 11m), according to the local federal government. Prof Zhong Yuanchang, who is included in the project, stated the base would be finished by the end of this year and “appropriate experiments” would “formally start” next year, China Science Daily reported. Learn more about the project in this China Briefing.
NEV: The production and sales of “new energy” automobiles (NEVs) in China “revitalized record highs” in July, Angus Media reported. Data from the China Automotive Manufacturers Association (CAAM) showed that 284,000 NEVs were produced and 271,000 of them were offered last month, the outlet said. The figures were, respectively, a 171% and 164% increase compared to the exact same time in 2015, it included. Xinhua said that Chinese companies made 1,478,000 NEVs from January to July– more than all NEVs produced in 2020 in the nation.
New science.
A new paper has actually discovered that Chinas carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) can improve getting involved business energy efficiency by driving their technological development. The research likewise discovered that the schemes marketisation level enhanced its promotion of energy effectiveness. The authors pertained to the conclusions after utilizing the difference-in-difference (DID) design– which is frequently utilized to examine policy effects– to examine pertinent information of 30 Chinese provinces and cities in between 2000 and 2017. The papers corresponding author, Chen Zhe from Nanjing University in China, informed Carbon Brief that the findings “provide empirical evidence and policy inspiration for China to enhance energy effectiveness and speed up the procedure of energy conservation”.
Carbon emissions trading plan, energy performance and rebound effect– Evidence from Chinas provincial dataEnergy Policy.
SEVERE WEATHER: The eastern parts of China will bear “higher climate risks” in the future compared to the rest of the country, according to Chao Qingchen, deputy director of the National Climate Centre. Commenting on the IPCC report, Chao told the press on Wednesday that China was anticipated to witness more intense extreme weather occasions and greater possibilities of substance and concurrent extreme occasions due to increasing environment modification.
WHEN: The news followed the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned of “prevalent and quick” changes to the Earths climate in the very first part of its sixth evaluation report. (Read Carbon Briefs extensive Q&A about the report here.) It also came in the run-up to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place in November in Glasgow. Leaders from 196 countries are because of assemble at the climate top. Chinas president Xi Jinping has actually received a “personal invite” from UK prime minister Boris Johnson, the Sunday Times previously reported.
According to the records, Meng also said that the NDRC had actually urged local federal governments to “reduce and decrease” more than 350 “dual-high” tasks from being developed or starting operation. The relocation, according to her, would slash new energy consumption by 270m tonnes of basic coal (Mtce).
Science magazine said the “grim” environment report had set off calls on China to slash its carbon emissions “sooner”. Prof Wang said that Mengs message appeared to be that China would remain focused on the 2030 carbon peaking and 2060 “carbon neutrality” goals and that the Politburos admonishments did not signify “a weakening of environment commitments”. He provided some examples: “Given the urgency of climate action and the recent IPCC report, when exactly are local environmental actions too severe or unrealistic?
Key advancements.
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He also prepared to prompt Beijing to bring forward its objective of peaking carbon emissions prior to 2030, the outlet stated. There have actually been no appropriate reports from the Chinese side, but Prof Astrid Nordin from the Lau China Institute of Kings College London informed Carbon Brief that Xie– who Kerry is reported to be meeting– would likely want the United States to “take on more of the costs of an international shift to cleaner energies”. Kerry-Xie conference must be to work out a more enthusiastic target on carbon neutrality and to recognize prospective locations for future cooperation”.
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NEW OCCUPATION: On Saturday, Peoples Daily, a state-run newspaper, published an interview with a carbon emissions administrator called Wang Jun. Wang is one of the very first people in the nation to take up the position, which was officially identified by the nationwide personnels authority in March. The function is a “critical part” of Chinas environment action, Dr Shi Xunpeng from the University of Technology Sydney informed Carbon Brief. Dr Shi, who has actually released documents on Chinas emission-reduction mechanisms, said that these administrators might provide the manpower to perform the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of co2 (CO2) and the planning of carbon-cutting strategies for companies.
FOOD SYSTEM: Making potatoes a staple food might help in reducing Chinas greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a brand-new study has discovered. China introduced a nationwide method in 2015 to promote potatoes as its “fourth staple crop”– after rice, wheat and maize– to guarantee sustainable advancement and food security. It found that a large-scale dietary shift towards potatoes, combined with much better growing approaches, could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of these staples by as much as 25%. Dr Giuliana Viglione, Carbon Briefs food systems journalist, blogged about the paper.
WHAT: Foreign Policy reported last Friday that John Kerry, the United States special governmental envoy for environment, prepared to visit China in late August for climate talks. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Kerry stated that he would visit China “in 3 weeks”. He stated that the Biden administration was dealing with Beijing “very carefully today” on climate change problems. “We will be continuing the discussions weve had more than the course of the last six months,” he included..
WHEN: The order was released on 30 July by the Politburo during a meeting chaired by President Xi. The conference also contacted the country to “stay with a single video game nationwide” and “establish [new guidelines] prior to breaking [old ones]. It instructed authorities to “resolutely include the blind advancement of dual-high projects”. Find out more about the context of these guidelines in this Carbon Brief explainer.
CARBON MARKET: Chinas carbon market has taped its “very first cross-border offer” including China Certified Emission Reductions (CCERs), Caixin reported. The Chinese financial outlet said that “an institution and a specific from Hong Kong” had actually bought nearly 10,000 tonnes of CCERs from a solar power task in mainland China. CCERs are a voluntary kind of carbon credits. “A carbon credit is a certificate granted by an authority when an activity is deemed to have actually prevented a genuine tonne of CO2 or equivalent other greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere,” Wai-Shin Chan, head of Climate Change Centre of Excellence and global head of ESG Research at HSBC, told Carbon Brief.
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WHO: Although Kerry did not define who he would be satisfying with in China in the CNN interview, according to Foreign Policy, he will have “yet another diplomatic arm-wrestling bout” with Xie Zhenhua, Chinas special environment envoy. Prof Wang said that Mengs message appeared to be that China would remain concentrated on the 2030 carbon peaking and 2060 “carbon neutrality” objectives and that the Politburos admonishments did not signal “a weakening of environment commitments”. COP15: The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) will take place in “2 stages” in 2021 and 2022 in Kunming, Chinas Ministry of Ecology and Environment confirmed on Wednesday, according to China News Service. CARBON MARKET: Chinas carbon market has actually taped its “very first cross-border offer” involving China Certified Emission Reductions (CCERs), Caixin reported. The papers matching author, Chen Zhe from Nanjing University in China, told Carbon Brief that the findings “supply empirical evidence and policy motivation for China to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the procedure of energy conservation”.