On 10 September 2025, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, on behalf of the State Council, delivered a report to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress on China’s efforts to address climate change and advance its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality (“dual carbon”) goals. The report highlighted progress since the targets were announced in 2020, while also acknowledging ongoing challenges in aligning economic development with emissions reduction.
Key progress
According to the report, China has made considerable progress in climate action, strengthening clean energy, low-carbon development, and climate resilience. The following areas are highlighted:
1. Energy transition: The report indicates that by June 2025, non-fossil fuel power generation capacity reached 2,220 gigawatts, accounting for 60.9% of total installed capacity. China continues to expand solar, wind, and hydropower projects, and remains among the countries with the largest nuclear power capacity under construction globally.
2. Industrial and technological development: The production of photovoltaic modules and lithium batteries has expanded by 3.7 and 6.4 times respectively since 2021. According to the report, China has been the world’s largest producer and market for electric vehicles for ten consecutive years. More than 6,000 enterprises have received government certification as “green factories”.
3. Green development in key sectors: The report states that nearly 98% of new urban buildings constructed in 2024 met green building standards. Clean freight transport accounted for about 70% of bulk cargo in key industries, while large-scale afforestation projects have contributed to a fast growth in forest resources.
4. Carbon market expansion: The national emissions trading system has expanded to include the steel, cement, and aluminum industries, now covering over 60% of China’s carbon emissions. As of June 2025, China reported the cumulative trading volume reaching 670 million tons of CO2 allowance, with a transaction value of 45.93 billion yuan (~5.5 billion EUR).
5. Climate adaptation: The government has launched the “National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035”, initiated pilot projects for climate-resilient cities, and strengthened disaster monitoring and early warning systems.
6. Innovation and green finance: China has promoted low-carbon technologies, carbon-neutral research labs, and green finance tools. By the end of 2024, green loans reached 36.6 trillion yuan (~4.4 trillion EUR).
7. International cooperation: China continues to engage in international climate governance under the Paris Agreement, advance South-South cooperation on climate change, and support green infrastructure and development projects through the Belt and Road Initiative.
Challenges ahead
The report states that China faces ongoing challenges in reducing carbon intensity, balancing energy security with the transition to renewables, strengthening climate policies and regulations, improving data and technology capacity, and navigating uncertainties in global climate governance.
- Emission intensity reduction: Achieving rapid carbon intensity cuts remains difficult, particularly given global economic volatility, rising energy demand, and extreme weather events.
- Energy security vs. transition: While renewable energy grows, coal-fired power plants still play a key role in grid stability, creating challenges for deeper system transformation.
- Policy and legal gaps: China’s climate governance framework requires further development, including laws, standards, and stronger inter-agency coordination.
- Capacity constraints: Gaps persist in emissions data accuracy, region-specific emission factors, and the commercialization of breakthrough low-carbon technologies.
- International context: Global climate governance faces heightened uncertainty, e.g. due to the USA’s announcement to withdraw once more from the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the urgency to act increases, as global average temperature in 2024 exceeded the 1.5°C threshold for the first time.
Next steps
Looking ahead, China plans to accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive climate legislation framework, to expand clean energy deployment while ensuring energy security, and to strengthen the national carbon market by gradually broadening its industry coverage and diversifying trading products. Additionally, the government aims to enhance adaptation measures in vulnerable regions and sectors, invest further in climate-related innovation, technology development, and green finance, as well as promote multilateral cooperation to strengthen global climate governance.
National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (2025): Report of the State Council on the Efforts to Address Climate Change and Achieve Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality (CN)
