China has already hit 2020 emissions intensity target – officials

China has already hit its 2020 target to reduce carbon emissions, two years ahead of schedule, the country’s official climate change representative told a summit in Shanghai.

By the end of 2017, China had cut the carbon dioxide intensity of its economy by 46% compared to 2005 levels – thereby fulfilling its commitment to reduce carbon dioxide intensity by 40 to 45% from the 2005 level by 2020.

This signals that the country – the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide – is on track to achieving its 2030 obligation to the Paris Agreement pledge to cut emissions per unit of GDP by 60  –  65%.

The news was revealed by Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change of China, during the 2018 Green Carbon Summit in Shanghai last month.

Chinese government statistics indicate that China’s carbon intensity dropped by 39% between 2005 – 2015, despite its economy growing by 1.5 times over the same period. Over the past two years, it has dropped by a further 7% a year.

Zhenhua credited the success largely to China’s highly anticipated emissions trading scheme (ETS), which has set emissions quotas for large enterprises. The power sector is biggest generator of China’s carbon emissions, producing around 3.3bn tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.