China is promoting green buildings to peak carbon emissions from urban and rural construction by 2030, as reported by Caixin on July 14. According to an action plan issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MHURD) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), all new urban buildings in China will be constructed in line with green building standards by 2025, and about 60% of urban communities are expected to become “green communities” with walkable access to services by 2030. Statistically, 77% of China’s new urban construction in 2020 was classified as green buildings.

A green building refers to a structure that is resource-saving and environmentally responsible throughout its life cycle. China’s green building action plan called for higher energy-saving standards for green and low-carbon buildings, vowing to raise buildings’ utilization of renewable energy from 6% in 2020 to 8% by 2025. Moreover, the plan also projected that electricity would cover more than 65% of buildings’ overall energy consumption by 2030, to abate the carbon emissions during buildings’ operation., The promotion of green buildings is crucial for China’s carbon peaking goal by 2030 and carbon neutrality goal by 2060, given that emissions from buildings’ life cycle made up a large portion of the country’s emission profile, accounting for 51% of China’s overall emissions in 2019.

Sources:

https://www.caixin.com/2022-07-14/101912854.html

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-07-14/China-to-build-more-low-carbon-communities-1bEz3c10zvy/index.html