A factory's thin-film photovoltaic building with glass walls and a glass roof in the city of Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, has generated more than 11 million kilowatt-hours of electricity within a year. China is taking positive actions to fulfill its commitment made last year to achieve the peaking of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

"It can meet 40% of the factory's electricity demand, greatly cutting energy consumption," said Tao Ligang, executive vice president of the Bengbu Glass Industry Design and Research Institute of the China National Building Material Group Co. Ltd. 

With the rapid development of the glass industry, Bengbu also plans to build itself into a demonstration city for photoelectric architecture in China. The electricity-generating glass will not only be used in enterprise factories, but will also be applied in local public buildings such as sports and cultural centers.

According to a government work report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation in early March, China will draw up an action plan to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and improve its industrial structure and energy mix. At a meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs on Monday, Chinese leader called for incorporating the peaking of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of the construction of an ecological civilization. 

Guided by the country's clear goals, more and more local governments and enterprises have begun to set their carbon reduction schedules.

Shanghai has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2025, five years earlier than the national target. China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited (China Baowu), the world's largest steel conglomerate, in January announced its aim to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2023, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% before 2035, and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.

East China's Anhui Province has also proposed in its 14th Five-Year Plan to promote green and low-carbon development by promoting green financing and green industries, and increasing the proportion of non-fossil resources in the main fields. Provinces and cities such as Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hainan have also included a carbon peak in their 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and drawn concrete road maps.

At an online forum for international cooperation on ecological environmental protection in the trans-Himalayas region last month, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that China is taking green development as an opportunity for developing countries to "surpass" developed countries, which deserves to be promoted around the world.

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