Expanding carbon intensity to include industrial process emissions strengthens longer-term decarbonization, argue Hu Min, Li Xindi, and Yang Li.

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.

This report tracks and quantitatively assesses the green and low-carbon transition of 30 Chinese provincial-level regions over the decade from 2013 to 2022 using the Subnational Low-Carbon and Green Index for China (Subnational LOGIC), which encompasses 26 indicators across four categories: carbon productivity; carbon emissions (covering energy, power, industry, buildings, transport, and agriculture); environmental conditions and land use; and policy systems and public participation. The analysis employs multiple classification frameworks—economic-geographic regions, economic development stages (Pioneer, Leading, Catching-Up, and Developing Economies), national major regional strategies, and energy development positioning—to identify structural divergences in transition patterns. It finds that scores improved across all provinces, with carbon productivity, energy, and power showing nationwide progress while transport, buildings, and industry remain key frontiers for deep decarbonization. The report also presents in-depth case studies of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Shanxi, and Hainan to examine differentiated transition pathways across economic development stages.