Nation to tackle green trade barriers

China will take effective steps to address green trade barriers as it moves toward carbon neutrality, according to the Government Work Report delivered at the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress on Wednesday.

Green trade barriers typically involve measures that impose restrictions or requirements on imported products to ensure compliance with specific environmental standards.

The country will actively and prudently work toward its climate targets of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, the report stated, listing concrete measures to advance those goals.

China will steadily expand the second batch of trials for peaking carbon dioxide emissions and establish zero-carbon industrial parks and factories, according to the report. It also plans to accelerate the establishment of a framework for controlling the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions and expand the national carbon trading market to cover more industrial sectors.

The nation will speed up the construction of new energy bases in deserts and other arid regions, develop offshore wind farms, and promote both the integration of renewable energy into local grids and the construction of transmission routes, the report said.

The report also highlighted measures China will roll out in response to green trade barriers. The country will launch carbon emissions statistics and accounting initiatives, develop systems for carbon footprint management, and establish carbon labeling and certification systems.

Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said green trade barriers differ from other types of trade barriers in that they include measures that align with global efforts to combat climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

"From this perspective, green trade barriers do have some valid components. Therefore, we must respond to them effectively," he said.

Several major emerging green trade barriers are intricately linked to managing products' carbon footprints across their life cycles, he noted. While some countries and regions have decades of experience in this area, China significantly lags behind.

"But China is vigorously advancing the work, with various government departments actively engaged," he said, citing a plan jointly unveiled by 15 national government bodies, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in June 2024 as an example.

By 2027, China aims to develop national guidelines for calculating product carbon footprints in line with international standards and will establish calculation rules and standards for approximately 100 key products, according to the plan.

Ma said China's initiatives to address green trade barriers can not only facilitate the upgrading of domestic industries but also propel their transition toward sustainability.

Positive progress was made last year in achieving the country's climate targets, according to a report on the implementation of the 2024 plan for national socioeconomic development and on the 2025 draft plan, which was also reviewed by national lawmakers on Wednesday.

Approximately 360 million kilowatts, or more than 82 percent, of China's newly installed power capacity across the country last year came from wind and solar power.

With its total installed capacity of wind and solar power exceeding 1.4 billion kilowatts last year, China met its proposed target six years ahead of schedule.