China plans new carbon emission controls as it aims for 2030 peak

BEIJING (Reuters) -China will accelerate the development of a carbon emissions control system to help it achieve its goal of reaching a peak in the emissions of the climate-warming gases by 2030, the cabinet said on Friday.

Beijing's energy policies have so far focused on "energy and carbon intensity" - energy and emissions involved in producing a unit of economic output - effectively tying its targets to overall economic growth.

Under a work plan announced by the State Council, a "dual-control" system will come into force during the 2026-2030 five-year plan period. Over that time intensity will remain the main measure, but total emissions controls will supplement it, and the focus will shift to emission controls thereafter.

Greenpeace welcomed Friday's move as a step towards decoupling of climate targets from economic growth.

"China is setting for the first time a hard emissions cap, which will start guide emissions reduction after 2030," said Yao Zhe, global policy advisor for Greenpeace East Asia in Beijing.

"China is now gradually extricating emissions reductions from economic growth," Yao said.

Carbon budgets will be created by China's provinces and municipalities, and the budgeting system will be tested before the end of 2025, the cabinet said in a statement.

The plan also calls for an improvement in the statistical and accounting system for carbon emissions by 2025, with a focus on key industries such as power, steel, metals, building materials, and petrochemicals.

Carbon emissions quotas will be incorporated into national economic and social development planning, while energy conservation assessments of fixed asset investment projects will have to take those emissions into account, the State Council said.

In June, Beijing also announced a plan to better measure the carbon footprint of its products, which is due to go into effect in 2027.

(Reporting by Colleen HoweEditing by Ros Russell and Tomasz Janowski)