The central government will put more money into reducing and replacing coal use in heavy industry, and monitoring and accounting carbon emissions, according to its new notice on investment into energy conservation and carbon-reduction projects.
Several Chinese media outlets highlighted the focus of the notice on decarbonising “key industrial sectors” like power and steel sectors, but Dialogue Earth found this support already existed in last year’s notice.
The new document keeps subsidies for decarbonising high-emission sectors, as well as for circular-economy projects, such as recycling stations, but adds two new areas: “clean alternatives to coal consumption” and the monitoring and accounting of carbon emissions.
The first category covers replacing coal-fired boilers and kilns with cleaner alternatives in industries including food, tobacco, textiles and paper, as well as promoting the heating of buildings using geothermal energy and biomass. It also includes “upgrading coal power and coal-chemical plants” without going into detail.
The second category focuses on government projects to measure and monitor carbon emissions, including by creating emission factor databases.
The notice was released on 14 October by China’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
For the first time, the notice calls for combining “hard investment” in physical projects with “soft capacity building” in emissions data management.
Funding levels have also increased. Support for circular-economy projects rises from 15% to 20% of total investment in each project. New project types, like replacement of coal-fired equipment, also qualify for 20% support. New monitoring and accounting projects will receive between 60% to 80% support, depending on the region.
The previous limit of CNY 100 million (USD 14 million) per project has been removed, giving room for larger initiatives.
The notice also now directly references China’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for 2026-2030. It states that the NDRC will prepare the annual investment plan for energy in line with the goals of the new FYP, especially those related to environmental protection and resource efficiency.
The fourth full meeting of the Party’s current Central Committee, to be held next week, will discuss proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan.