* Full list of cited regulations at the end of this chapter.
At the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, President Xi Jinping of China announced that China will make efforts to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2060. Since then, China has promulgated a number of policy documents to outline its national CO2 reduction target and action plan, including the following:
- 2021 14th Five-Year Plan and 2035 Plan*
- 2021 Opinions on Full Implementation of Decarbonization*
- 2021 Action Plan for Peaking Carbon Emissions before 2030*
- 2022 National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for 2035*
- 2023 Guidelines for Establishing Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Standards*
Based on these macro policies and targets, China has further promulgated other national regulations to set out its CO2 reduction targets for the building sector, including the following:
- 2019 Near-Zero Energy Consumption Buildings Technical Standard*
- 2020 Green Building Promotion Action Plan*
- 2021 Opinions on Driving Green Developments in Urban and Rural Areas*
- 2021 General Rules*
Under these documents, China has set the following national CO2 reduction targets for the building sector:
- The carbon intensity level of all new buildings, renovation and expansion of existing buildings, and energy retrofitting of existing buildings, must comply with the applicable standards. (Note: These standards do not apply to industrial buildings that do not have heating supply or air-conditioning equipment or temporary buildings with a use duration of less than two years.)
- By 2025, the energy conservation rate of new residential buildings in urban areas must be improved by 30%.
- By 2025, the energy conservation rate of new public buildings in urban areas must be improved by 20%.
Further, China is drafting the following documents to quicken its progress on the above CO2 and energy reduction targets for its building sector:
- Carbon-Neutral Buildings Technical Standard*
- Revisions to the Green Building Evaluation Standard*