All Publications

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.

This report provides a detailed overview of the current situation and comprehensive analysis of Guangdong's power battery recycling industry under the new "Regulation on Batteries and Waste Batteries (EU)".

This report provides a detailed overview of the impact of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on Guangdong's export trade and response strategies.

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.

Based on policy dynamics tracked through the China Zero-Carbon Action Database, this report systematically documents officially released green and low-carbon initiatives across China's critical sectors—including energy, power, industry, transportation, urban-rural development, and agriculture—from January 2024 to February 2025, while also highlighting progress in carbon market development, non-CO₂ greenhouse gas management, synergistic approaches to pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, and enhancements to support systems and enabling mechanisms.

This report provides a detailed overview of the high-quality development path of Guangdong's new energy storage industry.

On April 28, 2025, the ACTION 2035 Climate Solution Shanxi Center convened a meeting, inviting relevant experts and industry representatives to engage in an in-depth discussion on electric energy substitution in the industrial sector in Shanxi Province during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The objective was to explore effective pathways for electric energy substitution and to identify its potential application areas. The meeting also aimed to provide research and decision-making references for the green and low-carbon transformation of industries in Shanxi, enabling the realization of double carbon goals. A policy briefing was written based on the discussions between experts and industry representatives. It outlines the progress of electric energy substitution, substitution practices and paths in key industries, challenges, and future policy priorities. The briefing indicates that Shanxi Province, as a comprehensive pilot of the national energy revolution and a traditional industrial base, has the conditions and needs to be in the forefront of industrial electrification transformation.

This policy brief was co-authored by the Shanxi Coshare Innovation Institute of Energy & Environment and iGDP. It reviews the progress of Shanxi's low-carbon transformation and, using the Shanxi EPS model and scenario analysis methods, further forecasts the long-term trends of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Shanxi. It identifies key areas requiring attention, key targets, and priority reduction measures under the dual-carbon scenario. At the same time, the report assesses the scale of investment required to implement these policies and their potential impact on GDP and employment. Based on these analyses, the report provides policy recommendations for Shanxi's low-carbon transformation.

This report focuses on the good practices of Chinese enterprises in reducing low-concentration coal mine gas emissions in Shanxi province, a region rich in coal and coalbed methane resources. Through expert interviews and field research, it looks at how selected enterprises have reduced coal mine methane within existing policy frameworks, using current technology, and in today’s market, while generating both economic and environmental benefits. The report also summarizes the key factors for replicating and promoting the implementation of these practices.

Due to differences in economic development level, energy supply structure, industrial structure, and resource endowment, there are significant differences in climate actions among China's provincial regions. Tracking these actions is essential to accurately understand the progress towards China's national climate goals. This report presents a series of charts that illustrate subnational carbon emission and mitigation trends, track progress on subnational energy and climate goals between 2015-2020, and assess the implementation capacity of subnational policies to achieve subnational dual carbon goals.

This report provides an overview of subnational climate actions in China's provincial regions. It aims to understand carbon emission trends and mitigation progress in each provincial region, track how each provincial region is implementing the nation's dual-carbon goals, assess regional implementation capacity by measuring how subnational energy and climate goals were implemented between 2015-2020, determine whether the policies currently in place will be sufficient to achieve subnational dual-carbon goals, and identify gaps and opportunities to enhance subnational climate actions.