China's Carbon Intensity Falls Four Percent in First Three Quarters

China’s carbon intensity - the level of carbon emissions per unit of economic growth - fell about 4 percent in the first three quarters of 2017, putting the country on track to meet its five-year targets, a senior official said.

China vowed to cut 2015 levels of carbon intensity by 18 percent by the end of 2020, part of a longer-term pledge to bring total greenhouse gas emissions to a peak by “around 2030”.

Li Gao, the head of the climate change office at the National Development and Reform Commission, told a conference that China had made clear progress in decoupling economic growth from CO2.

According to a report published on the website of China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) late on Thursday, Li said China was also still aiming to complete the launch of a nationwide carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS).
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Several studies have suggested that China is on track to meet its emissions peak target well ahead of schedule, with Chinese scientists saying in a recent paper in the Resources, Conservation and Recycling journal that China’s CO2 could hit its maximum in 2024.

A Chinese think tank has also suggested that national energy consumption - the source of around three quarters of China’s carbon emissions - may also have peaked.

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