https://www.cas.cn/cm/202608/t20260810_5118139.shtml

The global energy system is undergoing profound transformation. With the landscape of traditional energy supply remaining volatile, competition over critical mineral supply chains—essential for the utilization and development of new energy—is intensifying, and rivalry in key technologies is becoming increasingly fierce. These factors pose challenges to global energy security and the transition toward low-carbon development.

Currently, green and low-carbon industries have become a vital component of China’s high-quality development. We must seize the window of opportunity presented by the global energy transition, accelerate the transformation of our industrial and technological strengths into advantages for cooperative development, and better contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to usher in a new era of international energy cooperation.

China

• has established the world’s most systematic and comprehensive policy framework for carbon reduction,
• built the world’s largest carbon emissions trading market,
• constructed the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, and
• formed the world’s largest and most complete new energy industrial chain.

These efforts have effectively driven a significant drop in the costs of global wind and solar power. Recently issued documents—such as the “15th Five-Year Plan” for Building a New Energy System and the “15th Five-Year Plan” for National Climate Change Response—not only set new goals for us but also provide actionable guidelines and a crucial basis for our future work. Climate change concerns the well-being of all humanity, and the energy transition requires the international community to move forward hand in hand. China will continue to steadily advance its own energy transition, honor its commitments through concrete actions, deepen practical cooperation on green energy, and work with other nations to ensure steady and sustained progress in global climate governance.

Advancing “Dual Carbon” Efforts in the Natural Resources Sector

China will prioritize planning to optimize the pattern of territorial spatial development and protection. “Red lines” for ecological protection covering no less than 3.15 million square kilometers have been implemented, laying out 49 candidate areas for national parks, and designating over 190 marine and island protected areas—including the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve.

Conservation to improve resource utilization efficiency will be prioritised. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the amount of construction land used per unit of GDP nationwide dropped by a cumulative 19.36%. China issued and implemented standards for mining recovery rates, mineral processing recovery rates, and comprehensive utilization rates covering 125 types of minerals. Inefficient marine usage was phased out, and the development of large-scale wind and solar power bases on unused lands such as deserts, Gobi regions, and barren areas was initiated.

A systemic approach to enhance ecosystem carbon sink capacity was adopted. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, “Mountains-Rivers-Forests-Farmlands-Lakes-Grasslands” ecological restoration projects completed work on over 82 million *mu* (approx. 5.47 million hectares) of land. Nationwide, 940 kilometers of coastline and 830,000 *mu* of coastal wetlands were restored, while mangrove coverage expanded to 475,000 *mu*, effectively enhancing the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems.

Energy security and facilitating green, low-carbon development were secured. Major breakthroughs were achieved in the exploration of energy minerals—particularly oil, natural gas, and uranium—with the discovery of 10 large oil fields and 19 large gas fields during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Continuously Enhancing Governance Capacity for Addressing Climate Change

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and 16 other departments, issued the *National Plan for Addressing Climate Change (15th Five-Year Plan Period)*. This plan systematically outlines the goals and tasks for addressing climate change during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, providing a roadmap for action over the next five years. In recent years, my country has steadfastly implemented its national strategy to actively address climate change, achieving remarkable results.

By the end of 2025, the share of non-fossil energy consumption nationwide reached 21.7%. Key indicators—such as installed capacity for wind and solar power and forest stock volume—met the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets six years ahead of schedule. China has established the world’s largest carbon emissions trading market, built a national database for greenhouse gas emission factors, and constructed a national standards system for addressing climate change. Furthermore, the country has actively advanced the control of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases and accelerated the promotion and application of green and low-carbon technologies. China has also participated constructively in multilateral climate processes, helping to secure positive outcomes at successive UN Climate Change Conferences.

Moving forward, China will remain committed to the national strategy of actively addressing climate change and continue to enhance the effectiveness of our climate governance.

1. China will implement a package of major projects for addressing climate change in accordance with the *National Plan for Addressing Climate Change (15th Five-Year Plan Period)*.
2. China will accelerate the development of a carbon market that is more effective, dynamic, and internationally influential.
3. China will strengthen the management of product carbon footprints and promote the establishment of a unified, standardized system for carbon emission statistics and accounting.
4. China will accelerate innovation and the widespread adoption of green and low-carbon technologies, while mobilizing more capital toward the green and low-carbon sector.
5. China will refine the system for climate change adaptation and continue building a climate-resilient society.
6. China will participate in and lead global climate governance more proactively, contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to the global climate governance system.

As a key force in the nation’s strategic scientific and technological capabilities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has implemented a series of major projects in the “Dual Carbon” (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality) sector—including carbon budget verification for climate change response, thorium-based molten salt reactors, clean energy, efficient coal combustion and low-carbon utilization, and large-scale energy storage—providing scientific data to support China’s international climate negotiations. Breakthroughs such as single-atom catalysis, methanol-to-olefins (MTO), and coal-to-liquids (CTL) technologies have won the National Natural Science Award, the National Technological Invention Award, and the National Science and Technology Progress Award, respectively. Innovations like starch synthesis from carbon dioxide and methanol production from carbon dioxide offer new approaches to CO2 reduction and utilization, while a 500,000-ton coal-to-ethanol project has blazed a new trail for the efficient and clean use of coal.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ scientific and technological innovation efforts regarding “Dual Carbon” goals have received strong support from Shaanxi Province and Yulin City. In December 2019, the Academy signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Shaanxi Provincial Government to establish an “Energy Revolution Innovation Demonstration Zone.” The implementation plan for this zone was approved in October 2023. Yulin City invested over 3 billion yuan to build the Yulin CAS Clean Energy Innovation Institute. Bringing together seven teams led by academicians and over 60 research teams, the institute has established a full-chain innovation system covering research breakthroughs, pilot-scale testing, achievement commercialization, and talent cultivation, thereby fully empowering the high-quality development of the Yulin Energy Revolution Innovation Demonstration Zone.

Currently, core technologies such as coal-to-olefins and coal-to-ethanol have been deployed at scale in Yulin, driving cumulative investments exceeding 200 billion yuan and generating an annual output value of over 40 billion yuan, thus solidifying the foundation of a national-level energy and chemical industry cluster. Meanwhile, successive breakthroughs have been achieved in technologies such as zinc-bromine flow battery energy storage and magnesium hydride hydrogen storage. A portfolio of 20 mature technological achievements has been established, with three already successfully commercialized locally.

Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, was approved to build the Northern Shaanxi Energy and Chemical Base in 1998. After 28 years of dedicated development, it has transformed from a small inland city into a major energy hub and is now advancing toward the goal of becoming a world-class, high-end energy and chemical base. Occupying just 0.45% of the nation’s land area,　the base contributes over 10% of its total primary energy production. It is accelerating the construction of a new energy system, promoting the integrated development of coal, oil, gas, and chemicals alongside wind, solar, and hydrogen power, and establishing a strategic hinterland for national energy security.

This base is guiding the low-carbon development of a high-carbon city through “green” energy initiatives. By balancing development with emission reductions, the whole with the parts, the short term with the long term, and the government with the market, we are proactively planning six task lists—covering areas such as carbon reduction in key sectors and the phased phase-out of outdated production capacity. We are defining decarbonization measures like the substitution of green electricity and green hydrogen, as well as differentiated regulatory controls, striving to forge a new path of green, low-carbon energy transition and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

Leveraging the Advantages of Multi-Energy Integration to Explore the Path of Energy Transition

Wang Yiming, Former Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council

Energy transition represents a profound transformation in energy supply, industrial development, and governance models. Its core lies not merely in reducing energy consumption and carbon emission intensity, but—through technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and institutional refinement—in shifting the energy development model toward innovation-driven growth and enhanced efficiency, thereby cultivating new economic growth points and establishing new competitive advantages.

Currently, my country’s energy transition is proceeding amidst profound changes in the domestic and international environments. First, breakthroughs in the new round of the technological revolution are accelerating; artificial intelligence and quantum technology are deeply integrating with energy systems, while technologies such as new energy storage, smart grids, and digital dispatching are continuously enhancing the resilience of energy systems. Second, geopolitical conflicts are increasing uncertainty in international energy supplies and intensifying volatility in global energy markets. Third, achieving targets such as peaking coal and oil consumption by 2030 and raising the share of non-fossil energy consumption to 25% marks a critical stage in building a new energy system.

As a national-level strategic hub for integrated energy, Yulin City in Shaanxi Province has established an integrated energy industrial system characterized by “coal as the foundation, multi-energy complementarity, and industrial synergy.” During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, driving Yulin’s energy transition requires focusing on four areas: first, strengthening technological innovation capabilities by deepening cooperation with national research institutions and increasing investment in R&D and talent cultivation; second, building a modern energy system that integrates multiple energy sources—coordinating the development, optimal allocation, and efficient use of coal, oil, gas, wind, solar, and hydrogen—to create a system featuring multi-energy complementarity and synergy across generation, grid, load, and storage; third, developing a modern industrial system by fostering new growth drivers in sectors such as new energy and advanced manufacturing; and fourth, enhancing multi-faceted collaborative governance capabilities and refining supporting systems for technology finance, green finance, and the dual control of carbon emissions.

Currently, fossil energy reserves are finite, whereas green energy is abundant but unstable and characterized by low distribution density. Based on this perspective, we proposed the concept of “high-entropy energy.”

Wang Zhonglin, Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Founding Director of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences: In 2012, our team successfully invented the Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG), which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by coupling contact electrification with electrostatic induction. Compared to traditional generators, TENGs demonstrate unique advantages when driven by low-frequency, low-amplitude, and weak forces, offering a frequency spectrum that complements traditional electromagnetic generators. After more than a decade of development, TENG technology is now applied across six major industrial sectors.

In the field of intelligent robotics, miniature TENG devices enable the sensing of minute forces and precise control, providing essential sensory support for embodied intelligence. In the healthcare sector, TENG-based active stethoscopes achieve high-sensitivity detection of heart sound signals, opening new pathways for the digitalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and remote diagnosis and treatment. In the field of infrastructure monitoring, TENG-based self-powered sensing nodes eliminate the need for external power supplies; instead, they utilize vibration energy to enable real-time monitoring and data transmission regarding bridge health and line conditions, offering a low-cost, scalable solution for the development of the nation’s “Six Networks” infrastructure. Aligned with the national marine strategy, the team has proposed a “Blue Energy” concept and has already achieved self-powered operation for navigation lights in the East China Sea.

Energy development requires a comprehensive approach characterized by multi-energy complementarity. As an indigenous technology in my country’s high-entropy energy sector, TENG technology is expanding from micro/nano energy and self-powered sensing into broader domains such as blue energy and smart societies. It injects new technological momentum into driving the energy revolution, achieving “dual carbon” goals, and building a modern industrial system.

Yu Gang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the School of Future Technology, Beijing Normal University: Addressing new pollutants is a crucial task in building a “Beautiful China” and serves as a catalyst for the green, low-carbon transformation of the energy industry and the support of high-quality development. With the issuance of the *15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful China*—which integrates industrial restructuring, pollution control, ecological protection, and climate change response—the management of new pollutants has become a key focus in the critical battle against pollution and the effort to improve environmental quality during this new phase. China is accelerating the construction and refinement of its governance system for new pollutants. Since the issuance of the *Action Plan for the Control of New Pollutants*, multiple government departments have established collaborative mechanisms, released lists of priority substances for control, and rolled out governance initiatives across the country. The *Code of Ecological Environment* has laid a solid legal foundation for governance; the coordinated control of new pollutants has been designated as a major project; and specialized R&D programs for key technologies are set to launch—all of which continuously strengthen the institutional and technological support for governance.

The energy industry is a key sector for the control of new pollutants. Traditional coal-chemical and petrochemical production processes involve various regulated substances; meanwhile, new energy industries—such as photovoltaics, wind power, and power batteries—also present risks of new pollutant emissions throughout their lifecycles, spanning material preparation, equipment manufacturing, and the recycling of waste resources. Governance of new pollutants in the energy sector should be advanced systematically in stages: first by deploying industry demonstration projects, and subsequently by establishing robust, closed-loop mechanisms for screening and identification, risk assessment, and whole-process control. On one hand, it is essential to refine pollution prevention and control standards for specific industry segments and to implement clean alternatives at the source alongside closed-loop management during production. On the other hand, channels for green finance and social capital investment should be expanded, driving the green upgrading of the industrial chain through technological innovation and institutional constraints. Addressing new pollutants is not a constraint on industrial development; rather, it is a vital pathway to optimizing industrial structures, overcoming green trade barriers, and enhancing overall industry competitiveness, thereby facilitating green and sustainable development within the energy economy.