US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (left) meets China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua in Shanghai. (File photo: Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment)

China's recent commitment to curb coal consumption and coal-fired power projects has sent a strong signal that the country will unswervingly reduce its reliance on coal as a dominant source of energy, experts said.

China strives to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. How can China achieve these goals? What do they mean to China and the world?

While global attention centers on China's economic targets as top officials meet in Beijing to map out blueprints for the country's development over the next five years and beyond, policies on environmental protection, specifically reducing carbon emissions, are expected to be highlighted in the new 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Chinese experts said.

On November 27, 2021, Zou Ji, CEO and President of Energy Foundation China (EF China), was invited to attend the 2021 “Belt and Road” Clean Energy Development Forum in Xining City, Qinghai Province.

On September 30, 2021, Suzhou Municipal Development and Reform Commission and Energy Foundation China (EF China) held a signing ceremony for a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Strategic Cooperation between the two parties.

On the evening of August 26, 2021, People’s Government of Bayannur Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Energy Foundation China (EF China) held an on-line signing ceremony for a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two parties.

In mid-August, Ji ZOU, CEO and President of Energy Foundation China, was invited to deliver a lecture about technology, investment, and policy support for the achievement of China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals to China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), the world’s largest hydropower development enterprise.

The Coal Transition Quarterly is a serial newsletter of the Coal Transition Initiative at Energy Foundation China (EFC). It provides an overview of major developments on coal phase-out and environmental, social, and economic issues in China and beyond.

In mid-May 2021, Energy Foundation China (EF China) and media outlet China News Service held the fourth event of the “Sustainable Energy for a Prosperous China” forum series for journalists, focused on early peaking of carbon emissions, fast and ambitious local action, and the energy sector.

Shanghai celebrated a major achievement for green urban development and people-friendly mobility in September 2020 as the iconic Nanjing East Road became fully pedestrianized.

In August 2021, with support from Energy Foundation China, the Zhejiang Economic Information Center published this roadmap report on how to reduce coal consumption in the developed eastern province of Zhejiang by 2025 and further into the future.

Supported by Energy Foundation China, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published this article in August 2021 to provide technical assistance for accelerating the decarbonization of the Chinese power sector.

With support from Energy Foundation China, Carbon Trust and the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) released this assessment report in May 2021.

In 2021, Energy Foundation China supported the HD Environmental Consortium to study the development potential and utilization ways of hydrogen energy in municipal treatment plants. Their findings were released in this report of July 2021.