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In China’s blueprint for achieving its “dual carbon” goals, Shandong Province’s transformation journey holds significant exemplary value. As the third-largest provincial economy, a major industrial base, and a top energy-consuming province in China, Shandong’s path to transition is not only crucial for its own development, but also provides valuable practical insights for the green revitalization of traditional industrial regions at the national and global level. This case systematically reviews Shandong’s innovative concepts, strategic planning, and outstanding practices during its low-carbon transition, aiming to distill a replicable and scalable “Shandong model” and contribute wisdom to green transitions in China and beyond. This article was first published in World Environment, Issue No. 5, 2025 (bimonthly).

On the fifth anniversary of China’s “dual carbon” goals, this article reviews the practices of the ACTION 2035 platform in local-level low-carbon transitions. It highlights how regions across the country have promoted synergies between emissions reduction and economic development through measures such as energy structure optimization, industrial upgrading, green finance, and technological innovation, giving rise to diverse, locally adapted pathways for low-carbon development. The article emphasizes that the ACTION 2035 platform has strengthened local climate action by enhancing capacity building, facilitating knowledge sharing, and conducting policy-relevant research. By supporting the exchange and replication of successful green transformation experiences, the platform has become a vital resource in helping local governments raise ambition and effectiveness in climate governance, providing practical and strategic insights for achieving national carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. This article was first published as the cover story in World Environment, Issue No. 5, 2025.

Vigorously developing renewable energy is not only an essential component of China’s "four revolutions, one cooperation" energy security strategy, but also a key lever for achieving the “dual carbon” goals. Confronted with constraints such as limited land availability, short sunshine duration, and technical challenges in offshore wind development, Zhejiang Province has seized the opportunity of building a national demonstration zone for clean energy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, it promoted the large-scale and efficient utilization of renewable energy and energy storage. Installed renewable capacity now exceeds 50% of the total power capacity, marking significant progress in the low-carbon transformation of its energy mix. This article summarizes representative cases of new energy development in Zhejiang during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, aiming to provide valuable insights for other regions facing similar conditions in energy transition. This article was first published in World Environment, Issue No. 5, 2025 (bimonthly).

A recent viewpoint article by The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) focuses on Shandong Province's policy and practical explorations in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interaction. The article discusses how, through price mechanism reforms and market design, new energy vehicles can be transformed into flexible resources for the power system. It outlines Shandong's recent pilot policies, including the electricity discharge pricing mechanism, time-of-use electricity pricing for residential charging stations, and market price incentives in the spot market. The article also offers recommendations for further improving compensation mechanisms, optimizing market signals, strengthening grid planning, and increasing residential participation, all aimed at promoting the nationwide expansion and low-carbon transformation of vehicle-to-grid interaction.

On September 19, iGDP published a case study in the Global Times entitled “Breathing” Lingnan Near-Zero Carbon Building: Coexistence of Traditional Culture and Modern Technology. The article describes the integration of Lingnan traditional wisdom and modern green building technologies in Guangzhou. Hailed as a "breathing building," the Zhongjian Fourth Bureau Science and Technology Innovation Tower, located by the Pearl River, is not only the first super-tall office building in China to receive the near-zero energy consumption certification but also a reflection of Lingnan architectural culture in the new era. The design team drew inspiration from Lingnan’s "cool lanes" for ventilation and the sun-shading, rain-sheltering features of the "arcade" architecture. Combining solar chimneys with horizontal photovoltaic curtain walls, they achieved an organic integration of natural lighting, ventilation, and clean energy. Additionally, the building is equipped with an intelligent operation and carbon management system, which monitors and optimizes energy usage and carbon emissions throughout the building’s lifecycle. The article emphasizes that these innovative practices align with Guangdong’s green building development plans, transforming the energy-saving and carbon-reduction vision from blueprint to reality, gradually integrating it into the urban fabric and showcasing the potential future of low-carbon cities.

This article focuses on Shanxi, a major coal province in China, and details its exploration and breakthroughs in the emission reduction and utilization of low-concentration methane (mainly derived from coal mine gas). Low-concentration methane emission is a significant challenge in methane emission reduction in China's energy sector, particularly in Shanxi, a major coal mining area. This region has experienced a prolonged methane emission issue due to technological limitations, delayed policies, and unfavorable economic factors. Shanxi has charted a course from "discharging" to "burning" methane through locally adapted technologies, such as "low-concentration gas direct-fired heating." This strategic shift is in line with the revision of national standards and the strengthening of local policies. Direct-fired technology has become a key solution to reducing low-concentration gas emissions thanks to its high energy efficiency, low investment, and strong adaptability. Currently, relevant teams are expanding this technology to broader industrial fields such as glass manufacturing. They are also calling on existing safety regulations to catch up with technological innovations, opening more space for low-concentration methane management.

On July 21, 2025, iGDP Senior Analyst Liu Xueye published an original article in the Financial News, exploring the concept and operational framework of establishing an inter-provincial carbon quota trading mechanism under the "Dual Control" system (i.e., the dual control of total carbon emissions and carbon intensity). The article highlights the disparities between provinces in terms of resource endowments, industrial structures, and emission reduction costs. It proposes that by establishing an inter-provincial carbon compensation mechanism, coordinated emissions reduction and cost optimization across regions can be achieved while ensuring the overall national carbon emission cap is met. The article provides a detailed discussion on the setting of trading quotas, reserve and lending mechanisms, price formation mechanisms, and synergies with green finance. It emphasizes that policy design should balance fairness, incentivization, and flexibility to efficiently promote the achievement of the "dual carbon" goals.

On May 28, the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a technical partner of ACTION 2035, published an opinion article titled Promoting Green Development in Buildings Requires Moving Beyond the Electricity Ratio and Focusing on Efficient Equipment. The article discusses key issues related to green development in China's building sector. In promoting building electrification to achieve the dual carbon goals, the focus should not solely be on increasing the proportion of electricity consumption. Instead, it is crucial to promote high-efficiency electrical equipment, especially heat pump technology, and improve supporting policy indicators. The article analyzes the risks of solely emphasizing an increase in the electricity consumption ratio. Through case comparisons (such as heat pumps vs. electric boilers) and reviews of domestic and international policy practices, it demonstrates that the key to transforming the building energy structure lies in combining a high proportion of end-use electrified equipment with a power grid featuring high penetration of renewable energy. However, the current approach of narrowly pursuing a higher electricity consumption ratio may paradoxically lead to increased energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, the promotion of high-efficiency equipment should be the core strategy, with priority given to energy-saving technologies such as heat pumps. Establishing specific, measurable targets for efficient equipment application, setting caps on fossil energy consumption, phasing out inefficient heating methods, and standardizing calculation methods are deemed more effective in reducing building carbon emissions, controlling social costs, and driving a substantive green transformation of the building energy structure than simply setting electricity ratio goals. The article calls for a more scientific and comprehensive indicator system to be established in the 15th Five-Year Plan.