China to require over $18 trillion investment to achieve carbon goals

China estimates that an investment of over $18 trillion is needed for it to achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets, said a Chinese official on Saturday.

China officially joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People on Saturday at the ongoing 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai.

Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of ecology and environment, said at a China pavilion side event that the investment will create significant market opportunities in clean energy, such as photovoltaics and wind power, as well as in the circular economy sector.

"According to estimates from relevant institutions, achieving the temperature goal set by the Paris Agreement globally would require an investment of around $100 trillion," said Zhao.

"For China to achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets, an investment of approximately 130 trillion yuan (about $18.14 trillion) would be needed. We can see the tremendous business opportunities, market opportunities, and opportunities for green development within these figures. It provides a new track for high-quality development, job creation, and improvement of people's livelihoods."

The new track brings development opportunities for the market and enterprises. It intensifies competition in the fields of economy, technology, energy trade and financial investment. Meanwhile, it continuously gives rise to various new technologies and business models, creating a vast green market and unleashing powerful new drivers for economic growth.

"This investment will foster the reconstruction of the entire industrial system, creating an economic system that truly suits our high-quality development. Over the past decade, our resource output efficiency has increased by 58 percent, and we are the global leader in the utilization of bulk solid waste and recycled resources," said Zhu Liyang, president of China Association of Circular Economy.

Zhang Wenzhong, founder of the Wumart Group, said that the world is currently in a critical stage of taking action to address climate change, and it is crucial to fully leverage the role of the market and the leading role of enterprises in technological innovation, industrial products and services.

"Enterprises can only thrive and develop when they recognize that energy conservation and emission reduction are intrinsic needs. By implementing digitalization and intelligent solutions, we can achieve energy conservation and emission reduction, contributing to the achievement of China's carbon peak and neutrality targets earlier and with lower costs and better results," said Zhang.

China has said it will peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

COP28 runs from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with leaders from governments, businesses and civil society gathering to seek concrete solutions to climate change.

(Cover image via CMG)