China has released a plan to advance low-carbon development in the building materials sector, a large producer of industrial carbon emissions, vowing to secure a carbon peak target in the industry by 2030.
Considerable headway should occur in adjusting the industrial structure of the sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to the plan jointly unveiled by four government organs, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of building materials, and leads in the output of major building materials such as cement and plate glass. Due to its large scale, the building materials industry is a major source of energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, for China to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, it is important to put the building materials industry onto a green development track.
During the period, efforts will go into further promoting energy-saving and low-carbon technologies and reducing the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in key products, including cement, glass, and ceramics, the document said.
In the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), vital breakthroughs should take place in the industrial application of green and low-carbon technologies, with the establishment of an industrial system featuring green, low-carbon, and circular development, as per the plan.
(With input from Xinhua News Agency; Cover image via CFP)