This report examines the low-carbon transition pathways for thermal/heating systems in China's steel industry, reviewing the policy drivers behind decarbonization and analyzing the technological trajectory across near-, medium-, and long-term horizons (2025–2060). It surveys and compares the applicability, economics, and emissions-reduction potential of key technologies—including waste heat recovery, system efficiency improvements, and hydrogen-based metallurgy—through in-depth case studies (HBIS Group's hydrogen metallurgy, Shougang Jingtang's process interface optimization, and Sinosteel/CISP's hydrogen-based smelting reduction, among others). It further identifies the practical barriers to scaling these technologies (high green hydrogen costs, renewable energy intermittency, stranded-asset risk, and weak cross-sector coordination mechanisms), and proposes policy recommendations to accelerate the sector's shift toward integration with renewable energy systems.

In March 2026, China’s 15th Five Year Plan set a target to build “around 100 national level zero-carbon industrial parks” – zones for industrial production with net-zero or close to zero carbon emissions. It marked an upgrade to what had previously been a series of pilot projects around the country and catapulted such zones to a national priority.

On July 23, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration released the “15th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), which sets out a systematic roadmap for the development of renewable energy over the next five years.

On June 24, 2026, the Institute for Green Innovation and Development (iGDP) hosted the launch event for Zero Carbon Record 2.0 and a forum on progress toward the “dual carbon” goals.

We are nearly halfway through 2026. Global warming is steadily approaching the 1.5°C threshold, and extreme weather events are becoming increasingly “commonplace.” As China kicks off its 15th Five-Year Plan, the goal of reducing carbon intensity faces the practical pressure of “sluggish progress in the first half of the year”—global climate governance has reached a complex and critical crossroads.

According to Yang Li, deputy director of the Institute for Green Innovation and Development (iGDP), who spoke with a reporter from *China Energy News*, the report aims to track the implementation outcomes of local “dual carbon” targets and thereby provide a research foundation and decision-making support for promoting coordinated regional development and guiding localities to advance green transitions based on their own endowments and in accordance with local conditions.