SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will introduce new incentives to reduce pollution and carbon emissions and eliminate policy restraints, Premier Li Keqiang said in a government work report released ahead of the start of the annual session of parliament on Saturday.
China’s environmental commitments have come added under scrutiny this year as it tries to shore up growth and reduce the impact of stringent COVID-19 control policies on its economy and supply chains.
President Xi Jinping said in a speech in January that the country’s ambitious low-carbon goals should not come at the expense of energy and food security or the “normal life” of ordinary people.
The work report noted that stability, the expansion of domestic demand and food and energy security would remain major priorities in 2022.
It said China would “work harder” to make coal use cleaner and more efficient, update coal-fired power plants to make them more efficient, and enhance the capacity of grids to absorb power produced by renewable sources.
But efforts to reduce coal consumption and bring emissions to a peak would be done in a “well-ordered way”, it added.
It also said China will take stronger action to treat pollution in major rivers, lakes and bays and boost recycling.
Environmental groups have expressed concern that fears about the economy would lead China to backslide on its environmental commitments.
There was no annual target for energy intensity – the amount consumed per unit of GDP – in the Saturday report, and it also said China would not include major national projects in state energy consumption control targets.
(Reporting by David Stanway and Muyu Xu, Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kim Coghill)
