China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Sets Foundation for Climate Action, But Important Details Are Still Needed

A statement from Manish Bapna of the World Resources Institute analyzing China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), noting that while it confirms key climate pledges and sets specific energy targets, it lacks detailed implementation paths for achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

• China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) confirms the national pledges to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, while signaling an increased role in global climate action.
• The plan establishes specific targets for 2025, including a goal to reduce carbon dioxide intensity by 18% and an objective to increase the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption to approximately 20%.
• The 14th Five-Year Plan omits a GDP growth target, shifting focus toward 'quality over quantity,' which implies a focus on nature protection, sustainable city development, and a just transition for high-quality job creation.
• The World Resources Institute notes that the plan lacks specific details on how goals will be achieved, specifically missing an ambitious CO2 emissions cap and a clear reduction target for non-CO2 emissions.
• The 14th Five-Year Plan serves as a foundation for further planning, including a first national-level Climate Change Special Plan being drafted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and subsequent local government plans.

APA

Bapna, M. (2021). China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Sets Foundation for Climate Action, But Important Details Are Still Needed. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-chinas-14th-five-year-plan-sets-foundation-climate-action-important-details-are

Chicago

Bapna, Manish. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Sets Foundation for Climate Action, But Important Details Are Still Needed. World Resources Institute, 2021. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-chinas-14th-five-year-plan-sets-foundation-climate-action-important-details-are.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bapna |first1=Manish |title=China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Sets Foundation for Climate Action, But Important Details Are Still Needed |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=12 March 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/news/statement-chinas-14th-five-year-plan-sets-foundation-climate-action-important-details-are |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bapna2021chinas, author = {Bapna, Manish}, title = {{China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Sets Foundation for Climate Action, But Important Details Are Still Needed}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://www.wri.org/news/statement-chinas-14th-five-year-plan-sets-foundation-climate-action-important-details-are}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }