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(Bloomberg) — A think tank with ties to China’s State Council is adding to the chorus of researchers who see the country hitting peak emissions early, even as the government backs an aggressive expansion of fossil fuel output.
The Chinese Academy of Engineering said in a report it expects the amount of carbon dioxide the nation spews out to top out at 12.2 billion tons around 2027, state-owned CCTV reported Thursday. The academy follows other prominent think tanks that have said China will likely beat the government’s 2030 target to halt growth in its world-leading emissions.
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The expectations come even as China’s leaders last year resisted calls from climate advocates to make its target more ambitious, and this year have vowed to increase coal and gas production to ensure energy security. At the same time, local governments and utilities have announced ambitious wind and solar power plans that could rapidly expand clean energy capacity.
The academy, which operates under the State Council, expects China to generate more than 80% of its power from non-fossil fuel sources around 2045, and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Still, a series of technological innovations are needed in transportation, construction and other industries for that to happen, it said in the report.
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